Scars That Never Heal
by SingerOfTheNight
Summary: Being a prostitute for five years has broken Namine, but after a tricky escape plan succeeds, will she find the one person that will piece her back together? Or will she never trust again? AU Roxas/Namine. HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

She enclosed her arms around herself, trying to pick the pieces of herself up before her next client. Tearless sobs shook her tiny body, as she tried to convince herself that there was nothing she could do.

She was a whore.

Not just a whore, according to her uncle, but the lowliest of all whores. An unwilling one. He said that prostitutes should always be like happy dolls. A smile on your face at all times and never struggle, but pretend that they are the best that you've ever had. And she made sure that she acted just like a doll.

But not a happy one.

With each client came the same tactical moves, lie still, let them have their fun, and wait till the waking nightmare is over. Repeat.

Her uncle always commented on how he couldn't understand why she had so many customers, because she was one of the top most-seen workers at the stew. He said that she ought to be proud of her many patrons, even though, to him, she was inadequate.

She placed a pale, fragile hand on the bed beneath her, and lifted herself off of it. The room itself wasn't too big, or special in any way. The floor was rough with over-used hardwood and a spot in the corner was damp all the time for some unknown reason. The walls were a dark green, and some places held holes from memories she would like to not remember, while the door was a dirty white, covered in stains. The bed spread was the same color as the walls, and even had tattered, ripped holes. Her uncle hadn't bothered getting her a new one.

She walked over to the dresser, and stared into the old dusty mirror that lay on top. Blue cerulean orbs, looked back at her, sadness and despair swimming in them, and dark lashes surrounded them, coated in black mascara. Small lips, with red lipstick, were opened slightly revealing perfectly even, white teeth. The same lips that pigs kissed, the same lips that never smiled.

And even though the other working girls here always complimented her smooth, pale skin, her uncle always made her wear tons of oily foundation, topped with red blush.

It was weird because, even though she knew that the girl in the mirror was her, she still couldn't recognize herself. Her uncle made sure that she was who he wanted her to be, not who she wanted to be.

Her eyes traveled down and landed on black silk that clung to her body and flowed till mid-thigh. She hated black. _Hated it_.

It was all she, and the other girls could wear, every moment of everyday was _black._ She couldn't stand the color, couldn't stand the place, couldn't stand the work, and couldn't stand her 'dearest' uncle.

And she could definitely take it no longer.

Her eyes roamed down to the top drawer of the dresser, lingering a moment before gently pulling it open. Inside were a few articles of clothing, ranging from underwear to fishnet stockings some of her clients liked, and as she pushed the objects away with her long fingers, she found a book at the bottom.

It was worn, with tears on the maroon red cover, and she bent the book sideways to reveal the title of the book. '_Wuthering Heights' _was elegantly written in cursive, in big, gold letters. Namine read the book hundreds upon hundreds of times in the past, and she simply adored it and hated it at the same time.

You see she loved the book, but her mother was the one who gave it to her.

And she hated her mother.

She had left Namine. _"She dumped you on my doorstep, forced me to take you in. You should be grateful to me for letting you live under my roof!" _Her uncle shouted at her about a week after she started 'working', when she was just fifteen, _"She didn't care about a stupid girl like you! If she did you would still be with her!" _And she decided that he was right. If her mother really loved her, then she would be at home, being a normal twenty-year-old, and loving life. But now there were some days that she couldn't wait for it to end.

Her hand skimmed the cover of the old book, before gently probing it open to the middle of the book, where a small envelope lay inside. Scrawled in lead writing were the words, 'Escape Fund'.

Her and her best friend, Kairi, another 'worker' here, had decided on this fund months ago, stealing money from patrons who weren't looking. They had tried to escape once before, but they were caught, and got a brutal whipping from her uncle. Now they had it carefully planned out.

First: they need munny. Check, 1,082 munny to be precise; Second: They needed an escape route. They had mapping out the stew, and soon found that there was a huge air vent in the last stall in the bathrooms, so Check. Third: The will to leave. Triple Check.

Kairi used to be an energetic young girl, when she was first sold to the stew, and where she met Namine, and she fought off her customers until they had to tie her down (literally). Then she became like Namine, silent and weak. Broken. But the two were almost inseparable when they were together, sometimes saying nothing at all, never smiling, but enjoying each other's company nevertheless.

Their plan was to be put into action immediately after bed check, around 11:00 P.M.

She looked at the clock. Eight o'clock. Soon she would be out of here for good, never to come back. The thought almost made her smile. Almost.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the closing of a door. She turned and saw her last client for the night.

And hopefully forever.

Her door creaked open and she saw the outline of her uncle's head stick into her room. She quickly closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep. When he was satisfied, he silently closed her door, and she waited until he had checked all the rooms on her hall before leaping silently to her feet and pulling the worn book from its hiding place.

She opened her door, as quietly as she could manage, tip-toed out into the hall after making sure the coast was clear. She made her way to Kairi's room and before she could even turn the knob to her door, the red-haired girl was in front of her, staring at her with her deep, violet eyes clouded in excitement and fear.

She motioned the girl to follow her, and they silently made their way to the bathrooms, stopping immediately at any noise. As they entered the restrooms, Namine pointed to the end stall, and slowly opened the door, revealing a graffiti stained toilet and a stand where the toilet paper should go, but unfortunately it held none. Behind the toilet was a rusted cage, covering the opening to the air vents.

Namine turned to Kairi, "Please tell me you brought it."

Kairi nodded enthusiastically, before reaching into a small grey bag that hung on her shoulder, and pulled out the tab off the top of a soda can and handing it to her blonde companion.

Namine stuck the tab into one of the screws that held the cage in place and started to turn it, like one who does a screwdriver. The screw popped out and Namine worked on the rest until she could pry open the cage. She took the cage and placed it on the ground before climbing in the air vent, Kairi following close behind.

Her knees began to hurt as she crawled into the ventilation, but she ignored it. She passed over a small air vent, only to look down just in time to see her uncle direct his flashlight in her exact spot.

She jumped out of the way of the light before it hit her, and felt Kairi stop behind her. She waited until her uncle was a good distance away before beginning to crawl again. Around fifteen minutes later, she arrived at the end of the tunnel and found herself faced with another cage. She sat down and lifted her feet in front of her, and kicked it as hard as she could, then watched it fly out of its place, hitting the wall and crashing to the ground loudly.

She scooted out of the vent as quickly as she could, and helped Kairi out as well, before sprinting away, not wanting to stay there if one of her uncle's guards heard the noise.

She turned corners and ran down hallways, not even knowing where she was going, but knew that she had to find a way out. She turned one last corner, before sighing in relief at what lay at the other side of the room she was in.

She saw the doors that lead outside, and joy filled her heart, and all noise and objects seemed to have disappeared as she ran.

"NAMINE!" Kairi's scream broke through her barrier as she turned and stopped in her tracks at what she saw.

Her uncle's arm had Kairi in a tight hold refusing to let her go as the red-head sobbed, " No, go Namine! Save yourself! Do it for both of us!"

Tears poured down Namines face as she realized that she had to go, that Kairi couldn't be saved because her uncle's guards were fast approaching, and Kairi had no way of getting away from Namine's uncles death grip.

She was going to lose her only friend.

"I'll come back for you!" She shouted, though her voice broke in mid-sentence.

She saw Kairi do a quick nod, and she turned and bolted toward the door. She ran into it, and she repeatedly pushed the bar that was supposed to open the door, but to her dismay, it was locked.

"Oh, come on!" She sobbed. Her uncle's guards were drawing nearer.

She looked around, desperately seeking something to throw at the doors to shatter the glass. She felt her hand squeeze '_Withering Heights' _, and hoped the glass was as weak as it looked.

With a deep breath, she wound her arm back and threw the book as hard as her weak self could manage…

And watched the glass shatter, just like her spirit did five years ago…

She jumped through the door, narrowly missing one the guard's arms, and breathed in chilly October air, running for her freedom.

Until a horrible thought struck her. She just lost her best friend.

What was she going to do about losing the only person she trusts?

_Go back for her._

And that was exactly what she was going to do.

She stopped running when the splint in her side was threatening to kill her, and started walking in a quick pace along the sidewalk that bordered some stores and bars, with flashing lights highlighting the buildings' names.

She can't recall how far away she was from the stew, but she knew that she was at least five miles from it. Her stomach growled and she realized that the last thing she ate was half of a bagel that morning, so she decided to stop in a nearby convenience store for a candy bar, but first she really needed to use the bathroom.

She opened the door to the small store, and looked past the small shelves of various objects and spotted a flashing sign that read '_The Throne Room' _which she guessed meant the bathroom, so she headed towards it.

She reached for the door handle and pulled it open, closing it soon afterwards and locking the door. The bathroom wasn't really any different from the one in the whorehouse except that it actually had toilet paper, for which she was grateful for.

After using it, she flushed the bowl and turned the sink on, only to be disgusted when brown liquid came pouring out of the faucet besides clean water. She turned it off and settled for the hand sanitizer lying on the sink instead. Her eyes drifted to her reflection in the mirror.

She looked dead.

Her mascara was running from all the crying she did, making her have panda-eyes, and her skin looked dull and, if possible, even more pale than before.

Her blush was still on and so was her blood colored lip stick. So she tore a few of the paper towels stationed to her right and dipped it in the only clean water available. The toilet.

She scrubbed her face, lips, and eyes, till there was no trace of any make-up left. Her skin was red and her lips were swollen, while her eyes were a combination of the two.

She waited about five minutes, until everything returned to normal to head back into the rest of the store. She picked up a high-fiber granola bar and a bottle of Vitamin Water, before placing it on the counter to be paid for. The cashier, a blonde haired, green eyed boy, smiled at her and rang her up.

"That will be twenty-five munny please."

She nodded and handed him the correct amount, before grabbing her stuff and exiting the store.

She continued walking down the sidewalk, and started trying to unscrew the top of the Vitamin Water, passing a few stores along the way. She looked up, frustrated about the lid not opening, and saw a sign about twenty yards away that read, "_Radiant Sun Apartments, cheapest in town!" _, and thanked whoever her guardian angel was for bringing her here.

She finally got the top to come off the bottle, and was about to take a sip when she saw out of the corner of her left eye, three figures approaching her. Two were unmistakably guys, while the other was a woman judging by her curves.

They stepped into the light of a nearby street lamp, and Namine could now see them clearly. The woman had short white-violet hair that hung over the left side of her face, masking one of her blood red eyes, while she wore a sleeveless dark blue zip-up hoodie, and khaki capris.

Standing beside her was a well-built man with dark brown hair and eyes, sporting an orange tank top and baggy, dark sweatpants, in which he could have easily been mistaken for a basketball player.

Standing in front of the two, was a man with a black beanie covering his light blond hair, and a long white over coat, almost completely covering his baggy purple pants and too-short blue shirt that was revealing his abs.

"Hey, there Little Lady, don't you know it's dangerous to travel alone at night?" Namine could just hear the smirk in the blonde boys voice.

"Yeah, come over here and me and Seifer will protect you, ya know?" The muscular boy added.

The man she figured was Seifer scowled, "No, she's mine find your own. I need some fun tonight."

He reached for her hand that was clutching her beverage, so she backed away and threw the bottle at him before sprinting in the opposite direction.

"You little whore!" Seifer growled.

She cringed at the name. He had no idea. Her heart racing from fear, she turned a corner, hearing the group's footsteps trailing behind her. She started feeling dizzy from the lack of food, and the running and she started to slow, Seifer's gang catching up to her quickly.

She turned another corner and ran into someone's chest, making her almost fall over before the person caught her arm, and she steadied herself. Her eyes traveled to the person whose hand was still enclosed around her arm.

He had deep blue eyes, ones that would rival her own, that were swimming in confusion. Spiky blonde hair, swayed mostly to his right, shadowing his tan skin. He was wearing long-sleeved black Under Armor top with a grey T-shirt over it, clinging to his torso, showing off his muscular body, while a black necklace was thrown around his neck with the number thirteen hanging on it. His black jeans, she noticed, had holes where the knees were.

He was gorgeous.

"Well, guys, look who we have here." Seifer's voice range behind her, causing Spiky-Hair to look past her, "Chickenwuss."

She let out a frightened squeak, and stood behind the unknown man.

"Go away, Seifer." Spiky-Hair growled, and she was surprised how his voice was husky and deep.

The other man with Seifer stepped forward, "We don't want any trouble with you Roxas, just give us the girl, ya know?"

"Right." The woman replied simply.

Roxas…That was his name…

"That's not going to happen." Roxas said, and her head began to spin even more from hunger.

"Hey, Chickenwuss, I saw her first, go find your own." Seifer's eyes narrowed.

Roxas' did the same, "She's not property, man. And you're not getting to her unless you go through me."

Her back hit one of the buildings behind her, as Roxas pushed her away from him and she saw Seifer charge at him. The hunger slowly consumed her spinning head and darkness swallowed her whole.

**A/N: Alrighty, first chapter. If you guys like it I will continue. I wanted to do something really original for this story, since it's my first Roxas/Namine fanfiction, and I came up with Namine being a prostitute (lol). The escape seen was inspired by the movie 'The Ward' btw. Oh, and before I post another chappy, imma give you dudes and dudettes a heads up.**

**I hate love triangles, so don't expect one in this story. They are just really not my thing, sorry :/**

**This fanfiction will be filled with shocks and surprises. You have been warned ; )**

**Now then, reviews are what keep me writing so feel free to click that blue button below! : )**

**Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy my story!**

**~SingerOfTheNight**


	2. Broken Glass

_Her feet thudded against the red, carpeted floor, and her heart was beating faster than she ever imagined it would. She turned quickly behind her, and her eyes were casted into the hallway that was lit by orange lights._

_Her breath heavy, she spun back around and continued down the hall, starting to break a sweat. There was door at the very end of the corridor, and she was heading straight for it. She neared the door, relief starting to swell inside her as she stopped slightly in front of the door, her pale hand reaching for the knob._

_It never made it. Instead, the door was thrown open by itself, slamming into the wall beside it, making her jump back a few steps._

_Arms crept out from the shadows inside the door, and a deep voice, very familiar and very unwanted echoed inside her head._

"_I've found you, Namine…"_

_It was her uncle._

She shot up quickly, breathing so fast that she choked. Sweating profusely, she felt the tears that were pouring from her eyes and tried to calm herself down. She rubbed her eyes with the sheets from the bed that was lying underneath her-

Wait. Bed? Was she back at the stew? Did her uncle _really_ find her?

Panicking, her eyes shot around the room looking for any signs that this was her former prison. Blue walls closed her in the room, while polished wood floors held true to their glossiness. The bed had a blue blanket, currently strewn all over the place due to her nightmare, with white sheets now stained with her tears. A book shelf lied in the corner of the room, and a door, probably leading to the rest of the house, laid beside it.

She yelped in fear and surprise when it opened.

"Wow, calm down, you're alright. I'm just bringing you something to eat."

A man with spiky hair entered the room, and she instantly remembered him, making the events from last night come flowing into her head. Her eyes watered, but she said nothing to him.

As he approached the bed carrying a bowl and a cup of some orange substance she didn't know, her eyes glazed at the food with hunger.

He handed her the bowl, which had a spoon in it, and set the orange liquid on the end table beside her. She took the food quickly; afraid he would change his mind and take it back, and looked inside.

Oatmeal. Yum.

She immediately chowed down on it, not wasting a single bit, savoring the flavor but at the same time rushing to get it in her aching stomach.

"Jeez, when is the last time you ate something?"

She didn't answer him, instead she merely slowly her eating pace and swallowed, now taking tinier bites.

"Can you tell me your name? Mine is Roxas." He said pointing to himself.

Her eyes traveled up at him and she mentally noted that he was still wearing the clothes that he was last night. When their eyes met she quickly looked back at her almost-finished oatmeal.

She didn't want to speak with him, they just met, and even though he saved her last night, she still didn't quite trust him. One thing she has figured out though was that she wasn't back at the whorehouse. You had to work for your food there, and payment wasn't in munny.

Roxas sighed and ran one of his hands through his spiky hair, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. If you don't tell me your name or at least _something_ about you, how am I supposed to get you home?"

She nearly dropped her bowl at his question, and shook her head frantically, tears starting to well up in her eyes again at the thought of going back.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go home?"

The tears fell from her eyes, and her head shook with more ferocity.

He looked at her sternly, "Alright, I understand. I won't make you go if it's that bad." A black wrist watch suddenly started beeping, on the nightstand beside Namine on the nightstand, startling her. "It's just my watch. I gotta go to work now, but you can stay here and rest if you like. I don't seem the harm in it since there is nothing worth stealing here anyway." He added, scratching the back of his head.

"If you get hungry, there is more food in the fridge that you're welcome to, but please clean your mess, I hate cleaning." Then he exited the room.

She sat there for a minute and stayed that way until his footsteps faded and she heard a door open and close.

Silence.

She put the bowl on the nightstand, and looked at the orange liquid. She timidly grabbed the glass and sniffed its contents. What was this?

Despite her instincts screaming that she should not take a sip from an unknown beverage, given to her by a man she just met, she drank it anyway. To her surprise, it was bitter but sweet at the same time.

She loved it.

At the stew the only thing you ever drank was water, even though occasionally her uncle's favorites would have a soda. Kairi was one of his favorites, simple because of her beauty.

**Kairi!**

She jumped out of bed and landed gracefully on her feet, only to fall on the floor from pain that shot up her body. She looked at her feet and stared in shock at the bruises that lined her pale skin in that area.

She vowed to never run that much again.

Ignoring her protesting muscles and feet, she slowly made her way to the only window in the room and looked out, trying to get a feel of where exactly she was.

She was slightly taken aback when she looked into the outside world, because instead of being in a house like she thought she was, she was, infact, in an apartment. Either way, she didn't really mind.

Since the window was getting her nowhere, she walked carefully to the bookshelf, wincing when her feet hit the floor. She stopped when she reached it and let her eyes wander over the many books lining the shelves. She needed a map.

Just by looking at his collection of books, you could tell that Roxas was more of a serious person. Books like, '_The Republic' _by Plato, and, '_The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt' _by Edmund Morris, covered the shelves. Her eyes stopped on a book that was titled '_Radiant Garden Sites and Services'_.

She reached up, and plucked the book from its previous residence, then sat back on the bed and began to flip through the pages.

Now that she was pretty sure that she was in Radiant Garden, she flipped to the very back of the book where a large, pull-out map of different cities.

She knew that her old 'home' was in a city named Twilight Town, but even so, prostitution was illegal there, so her uncle had disguised the brothel as an inn, entitled 'The Setting Sun'.

Her finger traveled over the map stopping at Twilight Town. She seemed to have run all the way over to the next town, Radiant Garden, before she encountered Seifer…

Was this enough distance between her and the joy house? It seemed to be about ten miles away, wasn't that a little too close? Dismissing the thought, she turned her attention to the index on the side off the page and looked for hotels.

She felt her body tweak with fear when she found the brothels fake name.

She had never traveled outside stew, in her five years of working, and she didn't pay attention to the buildings surrounding it when she escaped. The only hint the map gave her was the fast food restraint a few blocks from it.

Then a thought struck her.

"_I'll come back for you!"_

She wanted to strangle herself. She had said that in front of her uncle and his guards. He would probably be waiting for her now, having all his guards on duty, and smirking at her ignorant mistake.

How could she go back now? She had to get Kairi back. _Had to. _She never broke a promise, and she wasn't about to start now. She had to figure out something…

Shaking her head, she got up and walked over to the door and exited the bedroom. She crept down the hallway, being quiet out of habit, and stopped in front of a mirror at the end of it.

She was still wearing the black dress. Hell. No.

She stuck her hand down her dress and pulled out the envelope that she stowed safely in her bra. She needed to go shopping, and fast before she literally tore off her clothes.

She silently ran past the kitchen, not bothering to look around, and saw a door that looked like the exit. She slowed her pace when she reached it, and grabbed a coat, probably Roxas', from the coat rack to her left, and opened the door. She was right, this was the way out. She went out into the hall, and shut the door behind her, before walking slowly and carefully down it, her hands shaking the whole way.

She stopped before an elevator, and looked at it questionably. Should she take the stairs, or this? Deciding on the latter, she gently pushed the button and waited a few moments for the elevator to arrive. When it did, she was relieved to see that she was the only one going to be riding it, and stepped into, pushing the bottom floor button while doing so.

After standing in the elevator for a short period of time, she found herself standing in the lobby. Keeping her face covered by her flaxen hair, she left the building.

Her eyes roamed up and down the streets, keeping a wary eye of strangers, but also looking for a clothing store. She stopped when she saw a sign that read, '_Olettes' Boutique of Radiance'._ Is everything named after this town?

Shaking her head, she crossed the street in order to get to the boutique, and entered the store. Inside were dresses and skirts of all sizes, though they seemed to specialize in petite apparel. She explored the store, her eye catching anything not black, and found herself gazing at a thigh-length white dress on sale, hanging around a small mannequin.

"Excuse me miss, can I help you with something today?" A warm voice said from behind her. She turned and saw a woman, about her age, with warm green eyes and shiny brown hair, divided in two braids, smiling at her. Her orange dress, clung comfortably to her body, and on her chest was a pinned name card that said, "Olette-Owner".

Ah, so this was the owner of the small shop.

Namine wordlessly pointed to the dress, and Olette smiled again, "Oh my goodness, it's lovely isn't it? We got in about twenty of them just this morning! We ordered five, but you know how things go, mix ups and what not, so I decided to put the dresses on sale!"

Namine pondered for a moment, before reaching around the mannequin and pulling four of the dresses off the rack and placing them neatly on the check-out counter, while Olette went around and starting to ring her up.

She exiting the store, being a very satisfied girl.

She ran back across the street, and traveled still a few more blocks, before arriving back at the apartment complex and entering the building. She hadn't noticed it in her haste to leave it before, but the lobby was actually very beautiful, with its bright chandelier hanging from the ceiling and beige-marble floors, it almost looked like a picture from a magazine.

She walked past it, to the elevators, and pushed the button then entered it when it arrived. She stood there, bags in hand and listened to the elevator music, before exiting it when the doors opened again. She trudged up to Roxas' apartment and opened the door, which she left unlocked, and placed her bags beside a black couch in the living room, gently plopping down on it also.

She held her held, as she felt a migraine starting to form. She got up and walked to the kitchen, opening the cabinets looking for some Advil, grumbling to herself the whole time. When she found what she was looking for, she took two out of the bottle, before placing it back in its' original position.

Searching the cabinets yet again, she found a plain white mug and held it under the sink for some water. Not expecting anything of the sorts, she almost screamed in fear as water came rushing towards her out of the sink sprayer. Putting her hands again the water, she dropped the mug and heard it shatter to pieces on the floor. Pain met her foot when she felt shards of glass stick in her foot. She dropped on the floor, out of the waters path, and stared horridly at the messy scene before her.

Roxas was going to kill her.

He was going to beat her! She broke one of his glasses; she should have never picked it up! _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Her mind scolded her, _You should have put up with the headache! It's not like you haven't had worse! _

Her hands shaking, she started to reach for the glass, but quickly froze in fear. Someone was opening the apartment door.

"Stupid Xemnas… I am _not _tired… could have stayed longer…" Roxas' voice echoed in her ears.

She heard him make his way to his bedroom, too distracted to notice the scene in his kitchen, then heard his footsteps stop. He muttered a quiet curse, before running back into the kitchen and picking up a phone that was hanging on the wall by a cord, and started dialing a few numbers. After about the forth button he pressed, he paused for a moment ( a very long moment ), and silently hung the phone back on the receiver.

He slowly turned around.

His blue eyes widened at the sight of her, soaking wet. "Holy shit, what happened to you?"

Tears filled her eyes, and her hand found its way up to her mouth, "I-I am s-s-so s-sorry! I-I didn't m-mean to! I am s-s-so sorry!" She stuttered, her voice slightly hoarse due to not speaking in a day.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. It's okay, I know it's not your fault." He stepped toward her, only to have her step back still whispering 'I'm sorry'.

He sighed and turned his attention toward the sink, which was still spilling out water. He reached around the faucet and turned the water off, before observing the sprayer and picking it up. He mingled with it for a second, before holding up a rubber band and mumbling, "Sora..."

He turned back toward her and said, "I should be the one apologizing. My brother likes to play pranks on me all the time and you stumbled upon one of his personal favorites."

She looked at him shocked. He wasn't furious with her? Not even a tad bit mad?

He stretched his hand out toward her, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up, and don't worry about the mug, I've got too many of them."

She stared at his hand, "But I broke it…"

He sighed, "Fine, if you really want to repay me for the mug, then all you gotta do is tell me your name, and come with me to dry you off."

He looked at her, and when her eyes met his, he was almost blown away by her beauty. Her ocean-deep eyes stared back at him before she mumbled something.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that." He said to her.

"…Namine. My name is Namine."

He let her name sink in before replying, "It's pretty."

She blinked at him, obviously startled, but he took no heed of it. Instead, he took her hand and led her to his bathroom, questioning why she cringed when he touched her.

He entered the bathroom, her in tow, and told her to sit on the toilet seat while he got a towel.

Her eyes absorbed the nice atmosphere. It wasn't like the other bathrooms she'd been to before. It was very warm and cozy, just like the rest of the apartment, with light-brown floors and green walls. The razors on the white counter and the Axe body-wash in the shower meant that a male was obviously residing here.

She watched Roxas as he opened a small closet to her left and pulled out a white towel, accidently dropping it at her feet.

She watched him bend down to pick it up, only to have his eyes narrow at her injured foot. "Why didn't you tell me you where hurt?" But instead of waiting for an answer, he walked back over to the closet and pulled out a first-aid kit.

He put the towel around her shoulders, and then bent down beside her foot. His eyebrows furrowed when she cringed yet again when he set her foot on his lap. He went to work picking tiny glass pieces from her foot.

"So where are you from?" He tried to start a conversation.

A slight pause, "…I'd rather not say…" Came her quiet answer.

"That's fine. Can you tell me how old you are?"

"Um, t-twenty."

"Cool. Do you have any family?" He didn't miss the muscle in her foot tighten when he asked the question.

"…"

"…Um, alright. The glass seems to be out of your foot now, but I'm going to bandage up for you."

She nodded, watching closely as took a roll of gauze and wrapped the bandage over her foot and pinned it closely to her skin.

"R-Roxas?" She asked, trying to be brave.

"Yeah?" His satiny voice echoed in the bathroom, and he looked up at her.

"I-If you don't mind me asking, where do you work…?" She chewed on her lip.

He smiled at her, "I'm a firefighter at the local firehouse. You know, the one nicknamed 'Xion'? Well there are thirteen of us there, and, um I am number XIII." He reached into his shirt and pulled out his dog-tag like necklace, that had the number '13' on it.

"O-oh. Thanks for answering…"

He picked the towel from around her shoulders and started to gentle dry her hair, "No problem. Did you have a job anywhere before we met?" He rubbed the towel into her blonde hair, while Namine was trying not to run away from his movements, afraid he might 'touch' her.

"I wouldn't exactly, er, call it a job."

"Oh, so you volunteered?"

She was almost on the verge of tears again, but kept them at bay, "Yeah, I guess." But he was dead wrong.

"Sweet, " he said finishing her hair, then wadding the towel into a bowl before throwing it like a basketball into the hamper, "well, that wasn't so hard, huh?" His shirt clung tightly to his chest again, outlining his well-built muscles.

"No, not at all."

Another lie.

**A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews! Just to clear a few things up, 'stew' is a word that they used in ancient times to describe a brothel. I decided to bring it back! : )**

**Again thank you for your reviews! They meant the world to me! : )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own : kingdom hearts, Axe bodywash, Underarmor, Vitamim Water, and anything else I might have meantioned thats a brand name...**

**Reviews ARE what keep me writing! : )**


	3. Price Tag

"So, are you hungry yet?" Roxas said looking down at her when they exited the bathroom.

"Huh?" She asked, not quite paying attention.

He looked sheepish, "Well, you know, I just thought that you might be hungry since it's dinner time, and, uh, I was wondering if you might want to go grab a bite to eat?"

She blinked at him, "Oh, um, sure."

He smiled, "Great, I know this really cool diner on the west side of town, they have the best hamburgers."

She nodded at him and he led her toward the door, only to have her stop in front of that same mirror in the hallway, as she realized that she still wearing the black dress.

"W-Wait, can I, um, change first?" She asked timidly.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Sure, but why? And do you have extra clothes?"

She looked down, "Well, this dress is a little damp," She lied, as it was perfectly dry, "and yes, I do, I went shopping and found a dress on sale…"

"Oh, alright, I don't mind waiting. I'll be on the couch when you're done." He smiled again. How did he do that?

"Thank you." She whispered.

"No problem."

She grabbed her bags and hurried towards the bathroom. She then locked the door, and pulled the black dress she hated so much, over her head, and stuffed it into the small trash bin in the bathroom. She dumped the contents of one of the bags on the floor, and picked up the white dress that fell from the bag, putting it on after. She carefully stowed the other bags in the small closet, then looked in the mirror above the sink.

She didn't look as bad as before.

Her blonde hair was a bit tangled, so she picked up a comb lying on the sink, and ran it through her flaxen locks. The rest of her appearance was satisfying, so she hurried and put her munny in a small pocket on the thigh part of the dress, and left the bathroom.

"Roxas?" she called quietly, her voice barely above a whisper, when she didn't see him sitting on the couch.

"You ready?" She squeaked when his voice echoed behind her, making him chuckle, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

She sighed in relief, "No, it's alright. And, um, yes I am ready now."

"Sweet, shall we go then?"

They exited the apartment building, and Roxas whistled for a cab. He gave the driver directions, and she watched as the fare calculator kept raising the price, until it finally stopped when the taxi did. She was beginning to pull out her munny to help pay, but Roxas stopped her with a motion of his hand.

"I got this." He said, as he opened his wallet and handed the correct amount of munny to the driver and getting out of the cab, Namine following close behind.

Roxas put his hands in his pockets and, after making sure Namine was still behind him, walked toward a small diner called '_Corner of Radiance'_. Namine sighed at the name. People obviously loved this town.

When they entered it, a small bell jingled, signifying their arrival. A red-haired man poked his head out from inside the kitchen, and a grin formed on his face as he made his way over to them, "Yo, Roxas!"

"What's up, man?" Roxas smiled, doing a weird handshake with the man.

"Not much, it's not too busy now, so you can sit wherever you like." The man eyed Namine. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Namine. Namine, this is my friend Axel. He owns the place, and is also a firefighter too."

She took in his wild, spiky hair, and the small upside-down, tear-drop tattoos that were resting right underneath both his vibrant, green eyes. He smiled and held his hand out, quickly drawing back when she made no move to take it. Instead she just nodded.

"Um," Axel scratched the back of his head, "the usual, Roxas?"

The blonde boy replied, "Yeah, but make it two, will ya?"

"Sure." And with that, Axel went back into the kitchen, while Roxas led her to a booth that was resting beside a window.

This place reminded Namine of the times when her and her group of friends used to hang out in a small restaurant on the out skirts of twilight town. She was about fifteen then, about four months before she was thrust into prostitution. Back then, if someone told her that she would be a prostitute in less than half a year, she would have laughed in their face, and told them they were crazy.

But now she wished someone _had _told her.

She shook her head, and tried to relieve herself of those thoughts.

"So, you have got to try the hamburgers because, like I said, they are amazing, okay?" Roxas peeked up at her through his bangs.

"Um, alright."

He smiled, "Good, because I already ordered them anyway."

His smile almost made her want to smile back at him. _Almost._ "So, Namine," he continued, "Tell me about yourself."

Her brows crinkled in confusion, "Excuse me?"

He chuckled, "You know, like, what are some of your hobbies?"

Hobbies? What did she used to do before she was dumped at the stew?

"Um, I…" she chewed on her lip, trying to think hard about her past, "I like to… draw…"

"Cool," he replied, "Are you thinking about getting a job in the art career? My Brother, Sora, is an artist himself."

She was genuinely surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah, if you need a job, I'm sure I can have him put in a good word for you."

Her eyes widened, "You'd do that for me?"

He smiled again, "Yeah, but I have one condition."

Her muscles tensed, "What would that be…?"

"You have to smile."

Her mouth parted in surprise; that was what he wanted? Nothing like the other men wanted from her, but a _smile_, of all things? Easy.

…

…Wait…

Just how _do _you smile again?

Her face scrunched together, and she stretched her lips to try and form the facial expression she seemed to have forgotten. Her nose crinkled, her eyes shut, her cheeks puffed, but no matter what she did, she could not, for the life of her, smile!

She huffed in annoyance, and, instead, put her attention on Roxas. She was about to ask for instructions on how to do the peculiar facial expression, when she noticed something slightly odd in Roxas' current behavior.

His hand was covering his mouth, and his face was slowly turning red. His shoulders were shaking, and his eyes were wide and staring at her in what seemed to be…_amusement?_

She cocked her head to the side, making his shoulders shake even more. What in the world was he doing? Was he crying? "Are you alright?" she asked, confused, but her question only worsened the situation by making him bury his face in his hands. That's when realization dawned on her.

H e was _laughing._

Of all the things he could be doing right now, he was laughing? "Roxas…" she said.

He withdrew his head from his hands, and stared at her, trying to control his laughter. "Y-Yeah?"

"May I ask what is so funny?" She inquired, getting a bit frustrated.

He gazed at her a moment longer before bursting back into hysterics again, "Y-your face! What were… you trying…to…do?"

He was laughing at her? He was the one who wanted her to smile, and she tried to! She can't help that she hasn't done it in a while!

"I was trying to fulfill your condition! I was trying to smile! And now, you're laughing at me?" She said, startled at what came out of her mouth, but liking it all the same.

She could tell that he was trying his best not to laugh, "I'm sorry, Namine, truly I am, it's just…" He chuckled a bit, "Man, it was just really amusing to watch, and trust me when I tell you, that you just made my day."

Now, she wanted to smile more than she has ever wanted in five years. _She_ made _his _day? "Oh," she said, heat starting to rise to her cheeks, "I did?"

He wiped a tear from his eye, "Yup, I haven't laughed like that in a while."

"Here you go, two ground rounds, and two glasses of water." Axel said, setting the food and drinks on the table, "Enjoy!"

"Thanks, Axel." Roxas replied taking his plate, and pushing Namines closer to her.

Axel grinned, "Just remember to leave a tip."He then proceeded to run back into the kitchen, before Roxas could throw a snide comment back.

The two ate in silence, Namine noticing that the burger was indeed very delicious, but compared to the things she used to eat, anything was better.

Roxas peeked up at her and noticed the satisfied look on the other blonde's face. He couldn't help but let another smile spread on his face, "Hey, I'll call Sora tonight and ask him if he can set up an appointment with his boss for you."

She blinked at him, "I don't want to be a bother…"

"Oh, man, you don't know Sora. Anytime he can do something for anyone, it makes him the happiest person on Earth."

"Oh, in that case, tell him I said thank you for any help he can offer."

He smiled, "Sure thing."

They fell back into a comfortable silence, each eating their burgers, until they both finished and Roxas paid the bill (even though Namine insisted on paying for her own meal).

They left the diner, both waving good-bye to Axel, and Roxas called a cab.

"So," Roxas said, once they were inside the taxi, "How was the burger? Amazing, right?"

She glanced at him and nodded, "Yes, it was, you were right."

A thought suddenly struck her, "Hey, Roxas?"

His head turned toward her, "Yeah?"

She twirled her thumbs, "Do you know anywhere that has apartments that are pretty cheap? You know, so that I could rent one?"

"Hmm," he said, putting a finger on his chin, "I don't know, let me ask around. I know that my apartment complex is filled, except for that one room that they are currently renovating… but just let me ask some people, and until then, you are welcome to stay at my place."

That was something to think about. Staying at Roxas'? Was that a good idea? Yeah, sure, she stayed at his place last night, but she was unconscious! She had no say -so in where he took her. But now she does, and yes, she is starting to feel comfortable around him, but that could change…. Then again, one night couldn't hurt, right?

"O-Oh, alright. Thank you." She let her hair frame her face to hide her blush.

She could hear the grin in his voice, "No problem."

The rest of the way, they sat in silence. When they pulled up to the apartment complex, Roxas paid the fare again, and then they walked in the building and rode the elevator up to the apartment. Roxas shoved the key into the lock and pushed the door open.

They took their shoes off, and she followed him into the living room where he plopped down on the black leather couch, and patted the cushion beside him, telling her to sit down.

She complied, and eased herself down, while he picked up the remote to the television, and started to flip through the channels. After about a minute or two, he sighed, and then looked at her.

"Wanna rent a movie?"

She raised her eyes to unsteadily meet his, "Um, sure."

So, after much more channel surfing through the pay-per-view section, Roxas finally decided on (with Namines consent of course) on a movie called "According to Greta".

Namine brought her knees up to her chest and leaned on the side of the couch, while her head drooped on her knees. Sometime during the middle of the movie, she felt her eyelids get very heavy all of a sudden and the last thing she remembered before falling asleep was Greta's boyfriend Julie saying "_What is wrong with you anyway, why are you like this?"_

The small blonde willed herself to sleep but not before answering the TV with, _'I don't know…'_

Namine awoke to the smell of something burning. She slowly opened her eyes to find that she was in the bed that she had woken up in yesterday. She placed her palms face-down on the white sheets and pushed herself up, groggily throwing her feet to the side of the bed before standing up and walking to the door to investigate the horrid smell.

She pried it open and stumbled down the hallway, halting when she got to the kitchen. Her tired eyes scanned the room, and paused when she spotted a blonde man standing over the stove.

Roxas.

She looked at the stove to survey what he was cooking, when a loud snap coming from a skillet sitting on top of one of the eyes, startled them both, before the skillet squirted a yellowish substance straight at Roxas' arm.

"Holy mother cracker of god!" Roxas said, swinging his arm wildly in the air, "Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!"

His arm collided with a bowl resting on the counter, forcing the liquid inside it to spill onto the floor. Roxas jumped as the liquid splattered on his face and hair, covering his eyes and nose, so she watched as he blindly searched for a towel, debating whether or not to help him. His search was cut short when he stepped in a puddle of the spilt liquid. Her eyes followed him as she watched his feet shoot up in the air, as he fell, hard, to the ground.

She quickly realized what had just happened and raced over to him, making sure to avoid the slippery substance residing on the floor.

"Are you alright?" She asked him, as he raised his head up to let their eyes meet.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," He closed his eyes and laid his head back onto the ground, "Pancakes are not my specialty…"

She looked at him, really looked at him, and noticed how peculiar this scene was. He was lying on the kitchen floor, yellow liquid strewn through his hair, and wrapped across his face, making him look like a clown gone terribly wrong. She replayed the scene she had just witnessed in her head, and realized that all that had happened just because he wanted to make Pancakes.

Pancakes.

Something strange and bizarre started to form in her chest, and her shoulders began to shake. Strange noises were escaping her mouth, so she put her hand over her lips to try and hide the sound, but no matter what, she could not stop the abnormal behavior from happening.

What in the world is going on?

Roxas' head shot up from the floor, and he watched Namine in absolute amazement. Just yesterday the woman standing in front of him couldn't even smile! Now she was…

…_laughing._

She was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face! He propped himself up with his elbows, and felt a chuckle escape his lips. Soon enough they were both laughing, and every time they began to calm down their eyes would meet and they would start bursting into laughter once again.

About ten minutes later, they were both sitting on the kitchen floor, smiling.

Namine hadn't remembered what it felt like to laugh, but experiencing the feeling again, was almost like erasing the past five years of her life. Back when she actually went to high school, had friends, laughed all the time, when she was a normal teenager…

Roxas was inwardly rejoicing over the fact that he had gotten the seemingly always stoic girl to finally crack a smile, much less a laugh. He turned toward her, his smile wavering when he noticed the nostalgic expression she wore.

"Er, " he started, "Wanna help me make pancakes, the right way?"

Namine snapped out of daze and looked at him, "Did you not read the directions?"

He scratched his head and blushed, "I'm more of a 'Do what I think is right' guy… haha…"

She smiled at him, the expression getting easier to do, and stood up, "Alright, let's do this."

He smiled back, and jumped to his feet, " Want some music while we cook?"

She nodded, "Sure."

Roxas opened one of the bottom cabinets, to the right of him, and pulled out a black cordless radio. He proceeded to set it on the counter and turn it on, he then put in a CD and waited until a song started to play before walking back over to her.

"Shouldn't we clean this mess first?" She asked him.

"Yeah, give me a second." He grabbed a towel from one of the drawers and quickly cleaned up all the spilled batter, and tossed the dirty rag into a laundry basket that stood by the trashcan.

"Okay, the deed is done. What does the box say to do first?"

She grabbed the pancake mix and flipped it over to expose the direction, "We need a cup of milk and two eggs."

"I've already gotten them out."

"Okay then, we need to take two cups of the mix and put it in a bowl, then add the eggs and milk."

"Alrighty," Roxas said, as he took a clean bowl and placed it on the counter, and then opened the egg carton, "You want to crack the eggs while I get a cup of milk?"

"Sure."

She took one of the eggs and tapped it against the bowl until she felt it crack, then split it in two and watched as the egg dropped into the bowl.

"Oh, this is a good song." She heard Roxas say while he was pouring the milk into a cup.

"_Seems like everybody's got a price…" _She heard the radio sing.

"_I wonder how they sleep at night…"_

She cracked the other egg open and dropped it into the bowl before turning to Roxas to ask for the milk. The corner of her lips tugged upwards as she watched him do a small jig to the song.

"_Why is everybody so serious? Acting so damn mysterious?"_

Her brow arched when she watched as he moon-walked over to her, "Namine, come on. Dance!"

She crinkled her nose, "No thanks, I think I'll sit this one out." She turned back towards the bowl.

He moved to stand beside her, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a mischievous smirk spread on his lips, "You need to lighten up, Namine."

She looked him in the eyes, "Excuse me?"

He picked up an egg from the carton, "You heard me, Namine. You need to lighten up."

Why hadn't she seen this coming?

Time seemed to slow when Roxas lifted his hand and held it directly over Namine's head, but when she figured out what he was about to do, it was already too late. She heard the egg crack and soon after felt the contents of it, sliding down her hair.

"_Can you feel that, yeah, we're paying with love tonight."_

"No. You. Did. Not." She said, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Judging by the fact that the egg is, indeed, on your head, I am going to have to say that yes, yes I did." She could hear the amusement dripping from his voice.

She wiped the yolk from her bangs, and then walked over to the cup of milk, "You're right Roxas, I did need to lighten up, but you know something? I think you need to cool down." She giggled as she proceeded to pour the milk on Roxas' head.

He shook his hair and she squealed when the milk splashed her, "I hope you know that this means war."

"_Wanna make the world dance, forget about the price tag."_

She ran around the counter and grabbed the pancake mix while Roxas grabbed the milk jug. She ducked where he couldn't see her, and kept quiet and still.

The kitchen was silent, except for the song still playing.

She willed herself to look around the counter, and inwardly sighed with relief when he wasn't there. She crawled to the opposite side of her and looked around but there was still no sign of Roxas. Where did he go?

"Hey." She heard him whisper right before she felt the entire contents of the milk jug being dumped on her head.

She shivered and gasped from the cold of it and turned slowly to face him.

"_Money can't buy us happiness…"_

He doubled over in laughter, and pretty soon she was laughing right along with him. She squeezed the milk out of her hair, and realized something.

She was having _fun._

All traces of happiness instantly disappeared off her face, only to be replaced by guilt.

Kairi was still at the stew, probably 'serving' a client at this very moment, and still enduring a living hell, while Namine was laughing and having _fun._ How selfish could she be?

She slowly got to her feet and backed away from Roxas, watching as his smile disappeared as well. This was wrong, she can't be happy while Kairi isn't. "Um," She said nervously as turned away from him, "I'm going to go take a shower."

And without even waiting for an answer, she left the room.

"_Forget about the price tag…"_

**A/N: I Do not own Kingdom Hearts, the song 'Price Tag' or any other brand name I mentioned.**

**Thanks for your reviews guys! And thanks to the person who pointed out my grammar mistakes, always proofread your stories! Haha**

**Sorry this took so long but a lot of things have happened over these few weeks. Maybe my next chapter won't be like this one *crosses fingers*.**

**Please review! They are my main inspiration, and without them my story will suck. Trust me. : )**

**Until next time!**

**~SingerOfTheNight 3**


	4. Building The Walls

Her eyes were pointed toward the floor while his seemed to be transfixed on her face.

"I called Sora." He said quietly.

She perked up at this, "Oh?"

"Yeah." He stepped toward her, making her want to back away but she stood firm. "He says that they aren't hiring at the moment, but we can check back in a month or so."

Her spirits dropped, " Oh…"

"But, I called another friend and she had an opening as a saleswoman at her clothing store. Would you like an interview there?"

She scanned the room, not wanting to meet his eyes, "What…store is it?"

He chuckled, "It's called '_Olettes' Boutique of Radiance'_."

She squirmed a bit, "I've been there before, that's where I got my dresses."

"Cool, so that means you don't need a map."

"No, when can I go?"

From her peripheral vision she saw him smile, "Anytime I guess."

"So, I can leave now?"

He looked away from her, "I don't see why not."

She quickly made her way to the door and slipped her feet into her shoes, and went to open the door but her hand froze on the doorknob, "Hey," Roxas' voice sounded through the apartment, "I'm sorry if I did something to offend you today, I honestly didn't mean to, but I would like to what it was so I won't make the same mistake again…"

She sighed softly, but didn't turn toward him, "It wasn't you, it was me."

"Oh?" By the tone of his voice she could tell he was waiting for an explanation.

Her fist tightened around the handle, "I…." she froze, contemplating what she was about to say, "I had…fun…"

Without waiting for a reply, she flung the door open and swiftly descended the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

She could feel tears stinging her eyes, and wondered why she about to bawl right there on the stairs. Her hand shakily grabbed the railing and she slowly dropped to sit on one of the concrete steps.

_Kairi…_

The tears poured over and sobs shook her body. Kairi was the only person she cared about during these past five years so losing her was equivalent to losing half of herself, if not more. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, and willed herself to stand up.

She tried to clear her head of those thoughts, and successfully started to think about what had happened that morning.

She did, in fact, shower like she told Roxas she would but she intentionally stayed in there longer, at least thirty minutes or so. After she came out, she was surprised to see that the kitchen was as clean as it had been before the pancake-war.

"I cleaned it up."

She slowly turned around and her eyes were met with Roxas'. The blonde-haired man had his hands shoved in his ripped denim jeans, and she saw that his '13' dog-tag necklace was dangling over his red Hollister T-shirt.

"… I'm sorry." She said, since half the mess was her fault.

"It's no problem. I didn't mind."

She looked down, absolutely refusing to meet his eyes, while her lips wouldn't move to speak.

"_I called Sora…"_

He was so nice, and she had been so mean to him.

_He's a guy!_

Were all guys that bad? When her uncle took her in, he wasn't so bad at first. But he changed, and Roxas could too.

Using the railing on the staircase, she helped herself to stand, and slowly descended the stairs. When she got to the bottom, her hands found the push bar and she opened the door, and exited the building through the gorgeous lobby.

She walked a little bit before she crossed the street, just as she had done before, and soon found herself standing in front of the small clothing store.

"We're open, if you would like to come in."

She turned to her left and saw the same person who had helped her in the shop before, open the entrance door and softly smile at her.

"Thanks." Namine said, entering the store will the girl in tow.

"Can I help you with something in particular? Did those dresses not fit?"

The blonde shook her head, "No, no, they fit perfectly, but I came here for a different reason."

The brunettes' braids swayed as she turned toward her, "Oh?"

Namine shuffled her feet, "Well, I was looking for a job and someone told me that you were hiring…"

The woman's eyes instantly brightened, "Oh! Are you Namine?"

She gave the brunette a polite smile, "Yes, and your name-"

"Olette!" The woman replied quickly, making Namine remember the nametag she had seen her wear the day before, "Roxas called me earlier about you, he said that he had a friend in need of a job. Let's just go into the back and I'll interview you right quick -", Namine was startled when Olette turned sharply toward her, "You _do _want an interview right?"

Namine blinked her blue orbs, "Of course."

Olette sighed with relief, "Good because Roxas can give me false info sometimes, and even though you said you needed a job, you can never tell with people around here." She eyed Namine, "But you aren't from around here, are you?"

The blondes eyes went downcast, "No, I'm not."

A smile found itself on the brunettes lips, "Well, be glad you aren't. Follow me please."

With that, Olette led her around the counter where the cash register lay, and behind a curtain that flowed into a small, orange room, with a desk and two, black leather seats sitting in front of it, as the only furnishings, but a vase sitting on the desk, which was full of blossomed tiger lilies, brightened the room considerably.

Olette sat behind the desk in a small almost unnoticeable seat, while Namine took one of the leather seats.

"Now," Olette said, pulling a few papers out of the desk, and setting one in front of Namine, "Fill out this form please, it shouldn't take but a couple of minutes."

So the blonde did as she was asked and put fake addresses and names where questions that could unravel her past were asked. After a few minutes, she handed the form back to Olette and watched as the brunette's eyes skimmed over the paper before carefully tucking the form into a file and putting it back in her desk.

"Are you good with people, Namine?" Olette placed her hands in her lap.

Wow, that was a toughie. If she could, Namine would buy an island and live all by herself until the day she died, that way, no one could ever hurt her again. But she needed this job, and she needed money.

"Yes, ma'am." She replied simply.

Olettes face scrunched together, "Please, just call me Olette. Anywho, that's good. Have you had any past employers?"

Every muscle in the blondes body tensed as she struggled with her answer, "I-I volunteered…"

A bright smile lit up Olettes face, "Did you, really? Excellent! I like you already!" Her fingers tapped the desk as she thought, "Hmm, any past offenses or bounties? It's a stupid question, I know, but I just want to make sure."

"No, nothing like that." Namine tried to smile.

"Alright." Olette stood, "You're hired!"

"What?" Namine gasped, "Already? Are you sure?"

"Yep!" The brunette beamed, " It's my shop, and I can hire whoever I want. Plus, if Roxas trusts you, then I trust you."

Namine really did smile now, "Thank you Olette, really, you've no idea how much this means."

They shook hands, "The pleasure's all mine. So, when can you start? I think I'll put you as a sales girl, sound good? I used to do that job, since only one other person works here, but I just don't have the time anymore since the store is getting so popular."

"That sounds great. I can start anytime you want me to."

"Excellent. Tomorrow then?"

Namines eyebrows raised, "Of course."

"Okay, come in at nine in the morning, and I'll show you a few things before we open, alright?"

"Sure." She stood smiling, and shook her new boss' hand one last time, "See you tomorrow then?"

"Yep! Have a nice day!" Olette waved as Namine exited her office.

"You too." The blonde replied, satisfaction gleaming in her heart.

**XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX**

Roxas sat in his apartment, completely alone.

His thoughts were clouded by the past two days, and the events that each held. If someone had told him last week that in just a few days he would save a girl, actually _clean _his kitchen of stray water from the faucet, have lunch with that same girl, watch a chick flick with that _same _girl, get in a food fight with that _same girl_, clean his kitchen _again_, and now, at this very moment, he would be sitting on his couch staring blankly at his TV, which was turned off, brooding over the fact that his actions seemed to have hurt _that same girl_, he would have looked at that person like he or she was some sort of freak.

But this was really happening.

He _did _clean his kitchen, _twice_. He did save a girl. He did have lunch with that _same_ girl, and he also watched some chick flick with that _same girl_. He did get into a food fight with _that same girl_. And here he is, sitting on his leather couch, watching a blank television screen, and practically analyzing his entire life at the moment.

This _sucked_.

Really, it did. The girl that he had been thinking about for the past hour, had left and he seriously doubted that she would come back.

But…why wouldn't she?

He didn't do anything wrong, she even said so herself! But, then why did he feel so blasted guilty? And what was this about 'having fun'? Would her having fun be such a bad thing?

This girl was so _different_.

When he first met her, he knew that something was a bit unusual about her. She didn't speak, and when he touched her she cringed, and also, when he asked personal questions she would tense up, lie, or not respond.

Did she honestly think that he actually thought she volunteered? A normal person would have been proud to admit that they volunteered somewhere. But, as stated earlier, she tensed up, and hesitated to respond to him.

Maybe she did volunteer and he was just over thinking things. She was so difficult to figure out that if she had told him that she worked at a bowling alley where hippos and monkeys came together to dance the night away, who was he to tell her that she was wrong?

Running a hand down his face, he finally stood from his sitting position and paced around the apartment. What if she _didn't _come back? Better yet, what if Seifer found her again and had her cornered in some stupid alley? What if he was doing _stuff_ to her right now?

Power walking to the front door of his apartment, he put his shoes on in a hurry and was just about to open the door, when a soft knock came from the other side of it. He yanked it open, and a sigh of relief escaped him.

It was Namine, the girl whom he had been stressing about all evening.

They stared at each other for a little while, before the blonde-haired woman broke the silence.

"I got the job… I thought you might want to know…"

A smile stretched across Roxas' face. "Really? That's great! Don't just stand there like an idiot, get in here."

A smile of her own touched Namines lips, "You aren't mad about this morning?"

"Not at all. Why would I be?"

Her eyes met her feet, "I was quite rude."

He nudged her shoulder, "Don't sweat it, you weren't. Anyway, come in."

She stepped through the doorway and he closed the door behind her, "So, tell me about the interview," He said while they both sat at the small dinner table that Namine hadn't even noticed before.

"Well," she said intertwining her fingers, "She asked me a few questions, and had me fill out a form, and then she hired me."

He blinked at her, "That's all? Just like that?"

She nodded, "Just like that."

"Hmm," he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, "she must like you then."

She shrugged, "I don't know, I guess it's possible."

"Possible? No, it's a definite. She just doesn't hire people-" he snapped his fingers, "-like that."

"She barely knows me enough to decide whether or not she likes me, don't you think?"

"So, you're saying that you've never looked at a person and decided that you liked them?"

"Well, you know, never judge a book by it's cover…"

"Even if that book had 'I am a very nice person' as the title?"

"Even then."

He raised an eyebrow, "Interesting."

"Very."

It suddenly got silent. He took this opportunity to get up and walk to one of the counters in the kitchen, then proceeded to pick up that mornings newspaper.

"Um, don't take this the wrong way or anything," he said placing the newspaper in front of her on the table, "I mean, you can stay here for however long you want to, but you did say that you were looking for an apartment, so I took the liberty of circling places that might suit your standards."

She looked at him and nodded, "Thank you," she said, in her soft voice, "that was very kind of you."

He chuckled and flipped the paper open, revealing the housing section and red circles around a few of the selections, "No problem."

Her eyes skimmed over the apartments and small rental housing, when she felt him place a hand on the back of her chair and point a finger at one of the circled choices, "This one is a block or two away from here, and it's fairly cheap, so it should be easy to pay for."

He was now so close to her that should could smell the body wash he used, "Then this one," he pointed to another, "Is about five blocks away, but it has been newly renovated so you won't have to do any work on it. It's a bit more expensive than the other, though."

She gulped, "Can we look at it?"

"Sure. You wanna go now?"

His scent almost overpowered her, "Well, you know what they say, the present is no time for…"

"There is no time like the present," He chuckled as he corrected her, and she blushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I haven't heard it in a while…."

He smiled, "Then put your shoes on and let's go!"

She politely returned the gesture, "Of course."

**XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX**

"Well, when the newspaper said it _had been _newly renovated, I didn't think they meant that it was _being _renovated right at this second. I mean, seriously? Why lie about something like that? People don't make much sense in this town…"

Despite Roxas' obvious frustration, she couldn't help but stare at him with slight amusement. They did, in fact, visit the 'newly renovated' apartment, but instead of being 'newly renovated' as the newspaper promised, it was exactly the opposite. When they arrived, and Namine stepped out of the taxi, a small bulldozer drove by and if it wasn't for Roxas pulling her out of the way, she would have been squashed underneath the gigantic tires.

When they proceeded to ask an employee about the apartment, he had informed them that it wasn't even close to being finished.

"We still have the other apartment to look at, right?" She asked, taking a small sip of the coffee she held in her hand.

"Yeah, we still have that one. Maybe it will be a lot better than the last one…"

After the disappointment of the first apartment, they both went into a local coffee shop to relax before moving to the next location. She could not remember the last time she had coffee, nor did she think she had _ever_ had it, so she asked Roxas what was the best to drink and he said that an ordinary coffee was the best thing they sold here.

He was right.

The beverage had an exotic, yet homey taste to it, kind of like going to a place that you have never been before, in your own backyard.

Pretty soon, much to her dismay, she had consumed the entire cup.

She raised her gaze to Roxas, who was pulling a bill of munny out of his wallet, and quickly questioned him about what he was doing.

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her, "A tip? I'm leaving a tip. You know, when a waitress gives you good service you tip her? When you volunteered, did you not get tipped?"

Her whole body cringed with realization, and she thought herself stupid as to why she asked, it only brought up memories she would give anything to forget. She couldn't meet his eyes, "Yes I got …tipped. I apologize, I remember now."

It looked like he wanted to ask her something, but quickly thought better of it, "So, are you ready to go check out that next apartment?"

"Yes, I'm finished, let's go."

**XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX**

"Hi-"

"Oh, where did I put that receipt?"

"Excuse me-"

"I know I had it around here somewhere!"

"Ma'am, if I could just-"

"It was on the desk, like, five seconds ago!"

"We wanted to look at the apartment-"

"It couldn't have just disappeared!"

Frustrated, Namine frowned and crossed her arms. The woman who was _supposed _to be helping them look at an apartment, had been running around for about five minutes going on and on about some receipt she lost. They had been standing there, waiting for her to assist them, and Namine had been trying to her attention for some time, but it was like the receipt was the only thing in the world that mattered to her at the moment.

Namine turned to look at Roxas, who sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yuffie!"

The short, black-haired girl instantly turned around, "What in the world- Roxas! Why didn't you tell me you were there?"

Yuffie jumped over the reception desk that separated them, and pulled Roxas in for a rough embrace, "How're ya doing, Roxie?"

She saw Roxas frown at the name, but it was quickly replaced by a wide grin, "Fine. And yourself?"

She held him at arms length, a smile of her own dancing across her pretty face, "Great! Other than the fact that I have seemed to misplaced something, life is almost perfect!"

"Great to hear it."

She glanced at Namine and nodded toward her, "How very rude of you, Roxie, to not introduce me to your friend." She gave a slight pout.

He chuckled, "I was just getting to that. Yuffie this is Namine, Namine this is Yuffie, an old friend."

Yuffie turned from Roxas and wrapped her arms around Namine, "_Hellooo _Namine! Glad to see that Roxas is out with a girl, it has been so long since we've seen him with one, that we thought for sure he was going gay!"

"_Yuffie!_" Roxas disbelievingly said.

She looked at him with innocent brown eyes, "What? We told you that we would support you no matter what gender you like! Oh, don't give me that look, put some big girl panties on and get over it."

Grumbling, Roxas accepted defeat.

Yuffie still had her arms around Namine, and she didn't seem to notice the fact that the blond woman had gone as rigid as a piece of wood. When the black haired receptionists first hugged her, it took all of Namines strength to not run away.

Finally, Yuffie removed her arms and focused on Roxas, "So what brings you to my not-so-humble abode?"

He crossed his arms, "We heard about an open apartment here in the newspaper."

Her eyes instantly brightened, "You guys have gotten to the 'move-in' stage already?"

Namine stirred, very uncomfortable, while the blond man rolled his eyes, "We aren't together Yuffie, she is just a friend."

_Friend. _

That word struck a cord with her. Even though she thought Roxas was very nice, she couldn't forget what men had done to her in the past. Considering Roxas as a friend would be something that she would have to think very hard about. Sure, she trusted him enough to where she knew he wouldn't touch her the way _other _men had done, but he could change. The only thing she wanted now was to get out of his apartment and finally be _alone._

"Oh," Yuffie said, clearly disappointed, "That's too bad. I had hoped- never mind. Anyway, follow me and I'll show you the apartment. It's nothing special, but I like it."

She led them to an elevator and they rode up until they reached the forth floor, getting out when the doors opened. They passed a few other doors before they finally stopped at a small brown one marked '312'.

Yuffie shoved a key through the keyhole and swung the door open, beckoning them inside. "It has one bathroom, two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and small dining area. All the essentials for living comfortably. It's fully furnished except for a bed also, so that might make things easier for ya."

The living room was the first room they encountered. The room was medium size with hardwood floors and pale green walls, while a cushioned, white couch sat in the center of the room with a petite wood coffee tabled standing in front of it. A chair that was matching the couch, sat next to it.

The couch was facing a small fireplace with a mantle on top of it, adding a warm feeling to the room. The room had few furnishings, but Namine decided that she liked it better that way.

When they finished looking at the living room, Yuffie brought them to a door to their left. "And this," she said, swinging the door open, "is the bathroom."

The bathroom was as simple as the living room. Along with its blue walls and white tile, a plain white toilet sat against the wall with a sink beside it, and a shower stood in the opposite corner. She was relived when she realized that the toilet was, in fact, clean.

There were two other doors in the bathroom besides the one that lead into the living room, "This door is the closet," Yuffie pointed to the door beside the sink, "and this one leads to the master bedroom."

She opened the door to reveal a room with peach colored walls, and cherry-oak flooring. As Yuffie pointed out before, there was no bed but there was a wooden dresser pressed against one of the walls along with a mirror resting on top of it. A matching desk sat on the opposite side of the room, while a bookshelf was beside it. "The closet isn't big or anything, just enough to hold your clothes." The receptionists informed her.

They exited the room, only to end up back into the living room, then from there they entered the kitchen which was in front of them, on the opposite side of the bedroom. The walls were white, while the floor was pitch black, and it held a refrigerator, a few counters, sink, and a stove. "The kitchen is also pretty simple, as you can see."

Namine couldn't hold it, "I don't like the floors."

"Me either," Yuffie agreed, "but fortunately, I know a good friend who will give you some sweet deals if you want to replace them."

Namine smiled and nodded, inwardly deciding that the floors would have to go.

The next room they saw was the dining room, which had red walls and faded wooden flooring. It came with a small, but pretty table with four chairs.

"And that's it! I told you that it wasn't anything special, but it's cheap and clean…"

"It's near my apartment too," Roxas added, "So if you need help with anything, I wouldn't be far."

Namines eyes roamed the apartment again, before a smile played on her lips.

"I'll take it."

**A/N: …..Late. Very late. I really should have had this up sooner, but school just won't give me a break. It's like the teachers don't realize how much homework they give us. Smh. Anywho, I apologize.**

**So how'd you guys like the chapter? She got a job, an apartment, a friend… Things are looking up for our little Namie right? Hmm, perhaps…**

**Leave me a review! Every time I get one, it only makes me want to write more! And thank you all for you marvelous reviews last time, I squeal every time I get one…**

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**~SingerOfTheNight**


	5. Breaking Them Down

**2:38 A.M.**

Her blood shot eyes stared at the digital clock beside the bed. She was so tired, that she vaguely remembered that Roxas made her sleep in his bed instead of on the couch, like she wanted to.

She threw the covers off herself, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Today was going to be her first day working a decent job, and she was going to walk in looking like a zombie. _On the first day_.

Shaking her head, she stood and turned on the small lamp sitting on the end table beside her, making her squint her eyes until they were adjusted to the newfound light. She slowly walked over to the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room and ran her pale fingers along the spines of the volumes of books before stopping and pulling out an atlas.

Grabbing a pencil she knelt back onto the bed and flipped through the atlas stopping on a page where the title read of, '_Twilight Town'._

She gulped and her heart sped up as her eyes roamed a map the book gave her. Her blue orbs stopped as her mind recognized the name, _'Twilights Sanctuary'_.

The brothel.

Her uncle had disguised the place as a men's bar, and all that the customers had to do was say the magic word and they would quietly be led to a room where they could fulfill their erotic desires.

She slammed her eyes shut and tried to clear her mind, _Focus Namine._

The map provided individual streets and buildings, so it was easy to find the establishment she was looking for. To the right of the brothel was a small business entitled, _'Setting Sun: Bed & Breakfast'_, and to the left was a house whose owner she did not know.

She couldn't remember most of her journey from Twilight Town to Radiant Garden, but of what she _did _remember helped her piece together the path she took that night. She knew that once she rescued Kairi, that she would have to take another way that is more complicated than the last. Her uncle would have probably upgraded security since she escaped too, so she would have to be very careful, even more so than when-

_Knock Knock._

The sound was so quiet that Namine didn't even register it at first. When it finally dawned on her, she cautiously got up and gently opened the door. Her eyes took in Roxas leaning on the doorway as he narrowed his own slightly to get used to the light pouring from her room.

Her blue orbs widened, "Oh my, I'm so sorry if I woke you…"

He shook his head, "Nah, I couldn't sleep either." He raised an eyebrow, "I assume that's why you're up?"

She nodded, "You wanna come in?" She thought it ironic that _she_ was inviting a man into her room.

"Sure, why not?"

He walked in and she was beginning to shut the door out of habit, but quickly rethought the action and left it open.

He sat on the bed and eyed the atlas, "Planning a road trip to Twilight Town?"

She tried not to look suspicious as she carefully closed the book and put the pencil away, "No just looking, I guess."

He grew silent for a minute before speaking, "Are you excited for you first day of work, which is-" he glanced at the clock, "today?"

She sighed and sat beside him, "I suppose, but if I walk in looking like this, then I'm afraid sales won't be too good."

She saw his lips twitch, "You don't look bad. Here, lay down." He rolled his eyes when she shot him a disbelieving look, "Come on, trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Feeling a bit guilty about her ever lingering suspicion, she cautiously wound herself underneath the covers.

"Cool, now close your eyes. Good, relax…"

She felt his fingers glide across one of her shoulders, "You're too tense. _Relax._"

She tried her best to do as she was told, but for some reason when he removed his fingers, her muscles tensed again.

"Okay, now stay completely still and only focus on the sound of my voice." He paused for a minute, then his voice became very soothing, and his words seemed to cradle her, "You're floating. Complete darkness. There is nothing but you and darkness. You are free to do as you will, and turn the darkness into any scenery you like. You're floating, Namine…"

She began to doze.

"Just you and the darkness."

She was slipping into sleep.

"Namine, you're floating…"

_A meadow. Yellow flowers covered the ground and their scent filled the air with a sweet fragrance, so sweet, in fact, that Namine had never smelled anything so nice in her life. The white dress she was wearing flowed in the breeze and tickled her as it swept across her skin. A smile of sweet bliss played on her lips and her eyes closed contently. _

_She can't remember the last time she felt so peaceful._

_Her legs moved her forward and her eyes opened. She was dancing. Dancing along the endless rows of flowers as her fingertips touched their soft petals. A melody rang from her lips before she realized that it was her own laugh, and she began to laugh even more. The past didn't exist, and the future was never going to happen. It was just her and the present. Right here, right now._

_She was so happy; more happy than she had ever been in her entire life._

"_Namine."_

_Her graceful steps faltered and her laughter was silenced as she looked for the source of the voice. She stood quietly for a few minutes before she dismissed it as her imagination and began to walk through the thicket of yellow beauties again._

"_Have you forgotten me Namine?"_

_She froze. "Who's there?"_

_A sound of disappointment echoed through the meadow, "Do I mean that little to you, Namine?"_

_An electric shock rolled through her body as recognition collided with her mind, "…Kairi?" She whispered softly._

_A wet drop of something warm hit her cheek and she raised a shaky finger to wipe it off. Her fingertip gently touched her cheek and she withdrew her hand to examine the liquid._

_Red._

_And from the overwhelming stench of it, she knew it was blood._

_Her body shaking, she tilted her head upward…_

…_and screamed at what she saw._

_The setting has changed completely. The tranquil meadow was now _replaced_ with a room resembling an insane asylum. The walls were gray, the only decoration being the cracks that occasionally appeared throughout them, while the floors were like a chess board, and she began to feel like a pawn in someone's cruel game. There was a bed with plain white sheets to the left of her, but other than that the room was empty._

_Except for one other thing._

_Her best friend was dangling from the ceiling in a straightjacket, blood running from her mouth and dropping onto the checkered floor._

_A crazed grin spread along Kairi's mouth, "Welcome home, Namine. Now, you will never forget me."_

She gasped for air as she shot up from Roxas' bed. Sweat was pouring from her skin, but relief settled within her as she realized that it was only a nightmare.

She sighed and looked at the clock. **8:12 A.M.**

She bolted from the bed and was in the shower in record time.

After she washed the sweat from her body she threw on some clothes she had hurriedly grabbed in her frantic expedition to the shower, and exited the bathroom. She ran to Roxas' bedroom to quickly make his bed, not even noticing the azure eyes that watched her in amusement.

After smoothing the last of the wrinkles on Roxas' bed, she rushed back to the bathroom, the same blue eyes following her, and threw her hair up in a ponytail. She exited the bathroom and slipped on her shoes and was just about to leave the apartment until she heard clapping behind her.

She turned sharply and her eyes met Roxas, who was smiling and clapping, "Wow. That's a new record. It took you fifteen minutes to shower, dry off, change, make the bed, do your hair, and you still have thirty minutes until you are supposed to be at work. I am truly impressed." He did a slight bow.

She cocked her head to the side, "How long have you been there?"

"I never left. I was watching TV the whole time."

Her brows furrowed, "Why didn't you wake me?"

He shrugged, "I was going to, but I figured you could use the sleep."

She sighed, "Just forget about it. I have to go now or I'll be late."

"Wait. I'll go with you, Sora is there and I need to talk to him about something."

She raised one of her eyebrows, but didn't bring the subject up, "Alright, that's fine."

He led the way out of the apartment building and whistled for a cab. One immediately stopped and they climbed inside it, Roxas telling the driver where to go.

She took the drive over there to examine Roxas' clothes. He was sporting a light blue button-up, which sleeves stopped at his elbows, and stretched across his skin. His blue jeans were faded in some spots, but on him, they looked like jeans you would see on a male model. Hanging around his neck was his dog-tag like necklace.

Soon enough, they had arrived at their designated destination, and Roxas, as always, paid the fare.

They got out of the taxi and entered _Olettes Boutique Of Radiance, _where they spotted Olette talking to a man whose brown, chocolate locks seemed to defy gravity even more than Roxas' did.

"Sora." She heard Roxas' deep voice call from behind her.

The man turned sharply, and his big blue eyes widened in surprise until they found her and Roxas, where as a big grin settled onto his face, and he walked over to them.

"Wassup my bruduh?" Sora said with a slight accent, as him and Roxas did a 'bro shake'.

"Not much," Roxas replied, then gestured to Namine with his thumb, "This is Namine, Namine this is my brother Sora."

Soras eyes roamed over her, before he quickly glanced at Roxas, disapproving eyes replacing his friendly ones, "I'm upset you didn't tell me about this sooner."

The blonde mans brow furrowed in confusion, as did Namines, "Tell you what?"

Sora sighed dramatically, "That you had a girlfriend, man!"

While Namine stood in shock, Roxas let out a slight chuckle, "It's not like that, she's just a friend."

The mood in the air instantly brightened when Sora beamed, and in one motion, he scooped Namines hand in his and shook it, "Well, in that case it's a pleasure to meet you, Namine!" He said, the grin never leaving his face.

She couldn't help but allow a small smile of her own to appear on her lips, "You too, Sora."

As the brunet walked back towards the counter where Olette was waiting, Roxas bent down and whispered to her, his breathe tickling her ear, "Don't worry about that, he does things like this a lot." To which Namine simply nodded.

They both mirrored Sora's action and walked to Olette. She was wearing the exact same orange sun-dress that she always did, and her name-tag was pinned to her left lapel, reading off "**Olette-Owner**".

The brunette went around the counter and gave a quick peck on the cheek to Roxas, then circled to Namine and wrapped her arms around her, "Hey, I'm glad you're here! I've got lots and lots to show you today, so be prepared." She withdrew from the blonde and beamed, "Oh, and I heard you have a new apartment! When are you going to move in?"

Namine gave her a polite smile, "Hopefully, I will get to tomorrow. Yuffie-"

"Ahh!" Olette squealed, "You met Yuffie? She's great, isn't she?" Roxas cleared his throat and Olette quickly caught herself, "Oh, I'm sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Continue, continue."

Namine giggled, something she knew she was going to have to get used to, "It's alright. As I was saying, Yuffie just needs to get some paperwork done, and I need a bed, and after that, it will be all settled."

"Excellent." Olette replied, then she went back to the other side of the counter. "Okay, so I've decided to give you two-hundred money per hour, that sound okay?" When Namine nodded in the positive, she continued, "I'll have to give you your uniform, so remind me of that, and, as you already know, I'm placing you as a sales girl… Oh, I need to introduce you to the only other person who works here." Olette said sheepishly, "It's a small business so I don't need much help, but you know… things are starting to pick up, so you are mega important as of today."

Olette turned and yelled, "Sel!"

Sora took this time to nudge her with his elbow, "You'll like her, she's about the nicest person you'll ever meet."

Olette huffed in impatience, "Sel! I have someone who would love to meet you!"

The blonde heard the noise of boxes being moved around in the back, before someone yelled back, "I'm coming, just give me a second!"

A moment passed before a thin, brunette girl appeared in the doorway of the backroom. She was wearing a white, slightly blue, button up, with a plaid, sky blue tie hanging down the center. Her black pants flowed down to her black dress shoes. Her face, most of all, was what made Namines' stomach flip. Her eyes were an electric green, and her skin was as smooth and fair as a models. But that wasn't what made Namines' legs go weak.

The woman with the soft, brown hair, looked at Namine with utter shock. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise and her feet made their way towards the blonde.

The woman stood in front of Namine, who was too shocked to speak.

"…Nami?" The girl whispered, barely audible to anyone else in the room but the person to whom she was directing the question..

Namines tongue felt like sandpaper as her entire mouth went dry, "Selphie?"

The brunette nodded, and to the shock of Olette, Roxas, and Sora, her vibrant, green eyes glistened with tears as she pulled Namine into a desperate hug.

"I thought you were dead Namine! _Dead_!" Selphie said, her voice straining with the effort of holding tears back, "I tried calling you several times after you left, but you didn't answer!" She held Namine at arms length, tears running across her face, "I went to your house and your mother wouldn't answer the door! Why didn't you call me Namine? Why?"

The blue eyed woman stared at Selphie, tears of her own streaking her face, "I couldn't, I'm so sorry Selphie, I didn't want to leave, but I had to!"

Her thoughts traveled through time to that unforgettable day.

"_Mom, I'm home!"_

_Fifteen-year-old Namine threw her house keys onto the kitchen table. Her eyebrows raised when she got no answer, "Mom?"_

_Her footsteps thudded against the tile in the kitchen, but was soon replaced by the hardwood floor in the dining room. Her innocent eyes took in her mother sitting on one of the chairs that matched the dining room table, and the older woman's hands were firmly gripping a bottle that looked like it contained liquor._

_Her stomach flipped in alarm, "Mom, what's going on?" She asked, setting herself easily into one of the other chairs._

_Her mother looked her in the eyes, and she knew instantly that something terrible had happened, "You really want to know, Namine?"_

_Her mother looked much like her except her eyes were a deep brown, and her hair was much shorter. She had wrinkles disrupting her usually smooth skin, but she was still beautiful. Namine could tell that her mother might be slightly drunk but she nodded slowly anyway, "Yes, I do."_

_Her mom took another swig of the liquid, before wiping her mouth with the back of her wrist and continued to stare at her daughter, "The moneys gone, sweetheart."_

_The teenagers eyes widened, "W-What do you mean it's all gone?"_

_The woman cradled her head in her hands, "I screwed up, Namine. I made a few bad investments." She sniffled, "I am so sorry, Nami. It's all my fault! God, I'm so stupid."_

_No matter how much she wanted to scream and scold her mother, she kept herself in check, "…What happens now?"_

_Her mother peeked at her through the openings in her fingers, "How would you like to go stay with your Uncle for a little while?" Seeing the shocked reaction on her daughters face, she continued, "Only for a little while, honey. You can have someone to stay with while I work all of this out. I promise it won't be too long. Trust me, Namine." A ghost of a smile touched her lips._

_And trust her mother, Namine did. _

_It was the worst mistake she had ever made._

_Before that day, she had been a regular teenage girl. She had homework some nights, she had great friends, she had a few crushes, and even got the occasional zit. She went from having a good life to plummeting down in the burning pits of hell, all in the short span of a single week. _

_Selphie had been her best friend in high school. Every Friday night they held a sleepover at the others house. They laughed, cried, talked, and practically lived together. They were like sisters, but her mother and uncle ripped that friendship from her._

_And she hated both of them._

Selphies voice brought her back from the past, "Where did you go? I missed you like crazy! You didn't even tell me you were leaving…"

Namine rubbed her face with her sleeve, and deliberately avoided the question, "I couldn't, I'm so sorry, I didn't have much time."

"Um," Sora interrupted them, "Sorry to ruin the moment and all, but I think the question we all want to know is… what is going on?"

Selphie wiped her eyes, "Sorry, we must look crazy to you guys. Nami was my best friend in high school, we both went to Traverse Town Academy together."

It was quiet for a moment before Roxas stirred, "Well, that's a shocker."

"Yeah. Big one." Olettes eyes were still wide, "What a coincidence that you two would work here…at this moment…now…here. Huh. Weird."

Sora did a slight nod, "Yeah…what she said."

"Nami," Selphie said, returning her attention back to the blonde, "Where did you go?"

Namine heavily weighed her options. She could tell Selphie the truth, and risk the hatred and disgust of her new peers, or she could lie and no one would know the difference.

She decided on the latter.

"Mom sent me to a private school in Hollow Bastion. I didn't want to go, I swear I didn't, but she forced me to. I wanted to call, Selphie, but no matter where I went, I couldn't use a phone." Well, at least half of it was true.

Selphie pulled her into another embrace before relaxing her grip and settling down, "It's okay Nam, I believe you."

She was so caught up in her own guilt, that she didn't even notice Roxas' azure eyes starring at her in suspicion.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Roxas?" Namine called throughout his apartment.

No answer.

Sighing, Namine gently took her shoes off, and went to sit on the sofa in the living room.

Her first day at her new job, was successful.

After the incident with Selphie died down, Roxas and Sora left to discuss something Sora like to call, 'Man's Business'. What exactly that meant, Namine did not know. Afterwards, she, Selphie, and Olette went into the backroom and Olette coached her on stocking clothing, dealing with customers, and ordering new clothing if Olette or Selphie couldn't get around to it. Then, the brunette directed her into the main part of the store, explaining where certain articles of clothing went and how to place them. She had her first test when an actual customer came in and Olette made her serve the woman.

It was a lot easier than she expected, that was for sure. The woman who couldn't have been any older than twenty-five, asked for a blouse that went to her elbows and was a color the woman had said was a 'tickle me pink'.

Namine searched a few racks of clothing before she stumbled upon a shirt that seemed like it fit the woman's description. When she brought it back to the lady, Namine was slightly trembling with worry for what the young woman would think, but, surprisingly, the lady squealed with delight and actually _ran _to the check out counter to buy it.

The memory of it brought a smile to the blondes lips.

Near the end of the day, Selphie had asked where exactly she met Roxas. She told the truth, since it wasn't really personal.

"Ew," Selphie replied, a grimace covering her pretty face, "Seifer is one person who is not fit to live around other humans."

Namine giggled at this. After that, they exchanged stories of what the other had been doing for the past few years, making Namine want to scream because she realized that everything she was telling Selphie, every single word that slipped past her lips, was a lie.

Selphie had been in a few relationships since they last spoken, (one particular one she liked to talk about involved a man named Sean) and she had went to Radiant Garden University before she dropped out, but she decided to stay here and create a life for herself. Her parents were good, her siblings were great, and her life was fantastic.

The web of lies Namine had spun weren't very far from Selphies own life. She graduated high school in Hollow Bastion (while in reality, her Uncle had enough decency to home school her until she was seventeen) but she had told the green-eyed woman that she had had no previous relationships. She had deceived Selphie and made her believe that she came to Radiant Garden because of their excellent job opportunities.

She made herself sick.

Putting all that to the back of her mind she looked at the calendar hanging opposite her on the wall, and then glanced at the clock to her left.

**October 23. 8:46 P.M.**

Exactly four days after she escaped Hell. She couldn't believe how that in four short days, her life had changed completely.

She got up off the couch and slipped into the kitchen. She turned on the faucet, after carefully making sure that no rubber-bands were in sight, and filled a glass of water for herself. She was so busy that she hadn't realized how famished she'd been until just now, when she downed the entire glass and filled it again.

She stopped gulping the refreshing water down when she heard the unmistakable sound that someone had just entered the apartment.

"Roxas? Is that you?" She asked, a bit nervous.

"You got it," She heard him say as he entered the kitchen and threw his keys on the counter, "Have a good first day?"

She nodded, "Yes, actually, a lot better than I expected."

He smiled tiredly and beckoned her into the living room, "Come in here and sit, and tell me all about it."

She followed his instruction and sat on the couch while he sat on one of the chairs. She immediately noticed the bags under his eyes, "Hard day?" She asked in her soft voice.

He chuckled, "I guess you could say that. We had two fires today, one in which we didn't get there in time and the entire house burnt down." Seeing her reaction he quickly explained, "No one died! We got everyone out, but we should have tried to save the house more than we did." He rubbed his eyes.

To be honest, Namine had almost forgotten he was a firefighter.

"Oh my, that's terrible. Are you alright?"

He looked up and saw the worry in her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, you were supposed to be telling me about your day, not the other way around."

"No, no," She said quickly, "Your day is obviously more important than mine. I mean, you save _lives_. I just hand out clothes to people."

He saw her eyes were big in admiration at him, and he chuckled, "Thanks, but I would genuinely like to know how _your _day went."

After a moment of debating with herself, she finally unraveled today's events to him. As she continued to talk, shocking her own self about how much she wished for him to know, she could tell he was growing more and more sleepy as time ticked away.

After about an hour of talking, she looked at him and noticed that he was barely able to stay awake, "Maybe you should go to bed, you don't look so well right now."

His words were slurred, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought him drunk, "Noo, noo, I'm fineee…"

She moved from her spot on the couch, "C'mon, let's get you to your room."

She tried to move him towards the bedroom, but he refused, "I'll sleeppp on the couch, you sleep on the bed."

She was right about him being drunk. He acted the exact same way as someone who had had too many beers on a Saturday night might. Though, to her relief, she knew he hadn't been drinking, because he was fine when he came in a while ago, and he didn't reek with the stench that _some _of her clients used to. So, she concluded, sleep apparently makes him a bit loopy.

He slumped himself on the couch, and used one of the small pillows as a headrest. She saw that he hadn't removed his boots when he came in and immediately did that for him. She found a blanket in a closet in the hallway, and draped it over him.

As she went to ready herself for bed, she stopped and knelt beside him, something stirring inside her.

She wiped his bangs that covered his eyes, "Roxas?" She whispered.

Her answer was a small grunt.

"Are…" She swallowed, and she could hear her heart beat inside her ears, "…Are…. We friends?" Her voice was barely audible.

He didn't move, but she could clearly hear him, and his words made sense, even in his 'drunken' state, "Uh huh."

She smiled and continued; it was better to ask him now while he probably would forget all about this in the morning, "Are we… best friends?"

His answer was the clearest thing she had heard from him all night, "You bet."

And she realized, right there, that she trusted him.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Namine! Customer!" Olettes light voice called her.

"'Kay, I'll be right there!" The blonde quickly stopped what she was doing, and ran to the front of the store and greeted the client with a smile.

It had been one week since her first day at work, and things couldn't be better for the petite woman.

Yuffie had called and said that her apartments paperwork was all filed and good to go, and that she could move into it anytime she wanted. She and Roxas had went and bought a bed that same day with the money she had left over from her envelope and her newfound income. The only thing she had left to do, was change the floors in the kitchen.

Speaking of Roxas, even though she had moved into her new apartment, they still saw much of each other. They had gotten into the habit of having lunch with Olette, Selphie, and Sora, so she didn't miss either of the brothers. Her and Selphie worked their way into a great friendship again, even though they weren't as close as before, mostly because Namine still closed herself off from almost everyone.

But, the best was yet to come.

She had successfully drawn out a plan to free Kairi.

She had even decided on a date, and that day happened to be next week. On Halloween.

She had stayed up late devising this plan almost every night, and now, she was sure it was perfect. There was no way in the world that her Uncle would ever guess that she was going to-

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" The snapping of fingers in her face, awoke her from her daydream.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, "O-oh, I'm so sorry! Please excuse me. You were saying?"

The old woman with bleached-white hair grumbled and shoved a box in her hands, "I said that I'm not a customer! Someone wanted me to give this to you so take it and let me be on my way." The elderly lady started to walk away, but stopped in her tracks and faced her, "You _are _Namine, right?"

The blondes heart quickened, "Yes, I am."

The woman nodded and dragged herself out the door with her long black cane.

Confused, Namine stepped into the back room and examined the package. It was a small box with black wrapping and a crimson-red bow, tied perfectly into two loops that could have very well been a picture in a magazine.

She softly untied the bow and let it fall quietly on the table she had placed it upon. Her delicate fingers tore at the night-colored wrapping, until all that was left was the box itself.

She swiftly found a pair of scissors and cut the tape that held the top of the box together. Her hands peeled back the brown flaps to expose what was inside.

She pulled out a clear CD case that, as expected, held a disk inside. Her brows furrowed when she read what was written on the CD in a clear, black, permanent marker.

'**Listen to me.'**

Trying to remain calm she called out to her boss, "Hey, Olette? Do we have a CD player?"

Olette entered the backroom and opened one of the many cabinets in there, "Yeah," She lifted an orange radio and plunged it in, "Wanna listen to some music or something?"

Namine shook her head, "No, someone just gave me this package," she pointed to the box, then looked down at the disk in her hands, "and it says for me to listen to this."

Olette seemed slightly disturbed, "Uhm, okay that's kinda weird. But… just hand me the CD and we'll both listen to it."

She did as she was told, and watched Olette until she inserted the disk and stepped away from the radio and stood alongside Namine, "Now, we wait until it starts." The brunette said.

And soon, very softly at first, a song began to play.

"_Every breathe you take. _

_Every move you make._

_Every bond you break_

_Every step you take_

_I'll be watching you."_

The two women looked at each other, Namine slowly growing afraid.

"_Every single day._

_Every word you say._

_Every game you play_

_Every night you stay_

_I'll be watching you."_

"Namine," Olette said, fear being a prominent chord in her voice, "Hand me that box, would you, please?"

And Namine did.

"_Oh, can't you see._

_You belong to me."_

Olette shuffled through the box, moving the tissue around, and gasped, "Oh my God…"

And there, in Olettes left hand, were dozens of Photographs of Namine, just doing everyday things. Her walking down the street, her sitting on a bench, her doing her job at work, her eating lunch with her friends, her chatting with Roxas…

Tears filled Namines eyes, but before a single tear could be shed from her beautiful blue eyes, Olette pulled something else out of the box…

A black rose.

A symbol of death.

"_Every smile you fake._

_Every claim you stake…_

_**I'll be watching you."**_

**A/N: Hello there Readers! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter, especially the length of it because it's the longest one I've ever written ^_^' **

**As for Namines income, I have figured that in this story, it's about 12 U.S dollars.**

**I've decided to respond to the anonymous reviews at the end of each chapter since I cannot PM like I can do with the other. Hehe**

**Tori: Thank you so much! Your praise means a lot to me. And yeah, I don't want that to happen in this story. If they fall in love right away, then what's the fun in that, y'know? Speaking of the hunger games, I've just finished that book, and I must say that it's on my top 5 most favorite books as of now haha. Thanks so much for you review, and don't forget to leave another! ^_^**

**Laura: Thank you! Your so nice to compliment me so well! I greatly appreciate. Like, seriously. Lol, Keep reviewing! : )**

**Sean: Hello! Thank you for your praise! I hope you noticed that I did, in fact place your name in this chapter! If you didn't, I have it underlined ^_^ thanks for reviewing!**

**Well, that's all for now! Sorry about a long awaited update, but I hope I made up for it in length!**

**Remember that without reviews, I would be a very sad girl, who only writes for herself. : (**

**So, yeah, leave some reviews, you awesome people you! =D**

**Much love,**

**SingerOfTheNight**


	6. Shatter

**A/N: Boo! I'm back!**

"I'm calling the police right now-!"

Namine grabbed the brunettes arm, urgency threading her voice, "Please don't; I'm begging you! It would ruin everything!"

Olette looked at the blonde in shock, "Namine, you have a _stalker_! This person could seriously injure you! Don't you understand the serious of your situation?"

She allowed Olette to see the panic in her eyes, "Olette, _I am begging you. _Yes, I understand, but _you _don't."

Olette stared at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open in confusion, "_What_? Namine, what the hell is going on?"

"I-I can't tell you. I wish I could, but I can't. You must _realize _this. Please, _please_, don't call the police." She felt tears sting her eyes, "Please, Olette."

The brunette shook her head slowly, "This isn't right, Namine. The police can help you!"

"By doing what? Putting a restraining order out on some guy that they can't find?" Her eyes closed, "They won't find him, Olette. They _can't_. He's too good."

If it was even possible, Olettes' eyes got bigger, "Y-You _know _who it is? This doesn't make any sense what-so-ever, Namine! If you know him, then we can-"

"No, Olette! We can't." The tears spilled over as she stared at her friend with intensity. "He is too good. He knows all the tricks. He practically has cops waiting on him hand and foot." She lowered her head so her bangs covered her eyes, "Please, Olette, trust me. The police will only make it worse."

"How the hell could they possibly make it worse?" She picked up a wad of photos and waved them in front of the blondes face, "Look at this, Namine! It can't get much worse than this!"

Namine tore the pictures out of her friends hand and threw them to the ground, "It can, Olette! It can and it will. Please, I'm begging you, _please _trust me. Please."

After what literally felt like an eternity, Olette closed her eyes and shook her head, "Alright, alright, I won't call the police. But on one condition."

Namine sighed in relief, "Anything."

"You have to come and stay at my place for a while."

The blondes eyes widened and she immediately started to sputter out words that somehow managed to collide together to form something that sounded like, 'don't want to be a burden'.

Olette reached into one of the pockets in her jeans and took out her cell phone, "I _will_ call them, Namine, don't think I won't."

"B-But, I'll be in the way-"

"Namine." Olette growled.

After a few seconds, the blonde released a sigh, "Okay, but I will pay half-rent-"

"No." The brunette interrupted her. "You aren't giving up your old apartment; you are just coming for an extended vacation at my place. Paying for your place _and _half of mine is just too much." A soft smile played on her lips. "You are going to be staying with me, fee-free, whether you like it or not."

Her brows scrunched together, "Alright, but I will clean your place _daily _whether _you _like it or not."

"Deal, honey. I hate cleaning." She glanced at the door way. "I've got to get back to the customers; they're probably having a heart attack because no ones manning the register."

Olette looked like she was about to say something but stopped herself before the words escaped her lips. The brunette turned on her heels quickly and the blonde watched her pull back the curtain and exit the backroom.

That's when the dam was breached.

Tears poured over and dripped down her face; her cheeks becoming instantly wet from the pool of salt water she had created. Her hands numbly grasped anything in sight to help her steady herself and force her body not to cave in on itself. She grabbed onto the side of the counter and gently, but vacantly, lowered herself to the ground, her mental stability crumbling in despair.

This couldn't be real…

The photographs sprawled across the floor said otherwise.

It was like she was fifteen again. Scared-no terrified- of the future. The night her uncle took her was the worst night of her life and now, it seems, the day her uncle has found her again is the worst _day_ of her life.

Her hands shakily reached up to her forehead and she absently felt the sweat that beaded the skin there. How did he find her so quickly? She knew he had connections in Twilight Town, but in Radiant Garden as well? The cities were a good deal of distance away from each other, but did that mean that they both weren't still connected? Radiant Garden seemed like a nice place to live with little violence, but that doesn't suggest that there aren't underground illegal activities going on, right?

Prostitution as well?

She wanted to scream; to tear her hair out and run away again, but this time she was going to keep running and never stop. She was going to actually change her name and dye her hair. No one would find her.

_Roxas…_

The tears came heavier now, silent but slowly killing her. He was her friend. Her _best friend_. She cared about him.

But he was a man.

And all men were the same.

_But he could be different._

…Yeah, he could…

It was funny. Things were finally starting to get better; to be okay. All that was taken from her in the blink of an eye.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She sat, completely still until the tears stopped, wavering for a moment before making herself stand. The shaking in her limbs ceased after a few brief minutes and she took a cautious step forward, testing her weakened legs first, praying they don't crumple beneath her.

They didn't.

She stayed still for another minute, letting the redness in her nose and eyes disappear to show her normal pale skin again, before beginning to walk again. She pushed the curtain back and entered the main part of the store, her eyes searching for potential customers and when she finds one, she makes her way towards a young woman.

Maybe doing her job will take her mind off of her current situation for just enough time to calm down. After asking the woman if she needed any help, she began to search through one of the many racks in the store for the article of clothing the woman wished to have. She repeated this routine over and over again with different customers until, finally, it was closing time.

"Are you ready to go, Namine? We need to swing by your apartment, so we should get moving before it gets too dark." Olette said, throwing her purse over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Selphies vibrant green eyes landed on the blonde. "Why? Are you guys having a sleepover without me?"

Namine gave Selphie a reassuring smile. "Of course not. My floors are being redone, so I'm just going to stay with Olette for a while." It wasn't a total lie. She _was _replacing the black tile in her kitchen.

Selphie pouted. "You _could _have stayed with me…"

"Oh come on, Selph." Olette cut in. "Let me have Namine this one time. _Please_?"

She huffed. "But-"Her eyes turned back to Namine. "_Nami…"_

"Don't go guilt-tripping her! Let Namine stay with me, Selph! _Pleeeeeease_?

The other brunette groaned. "_Fine_. Just this _one time_, though. And I mean it."

Selphie skipped over to Namine and threw her arms around her. "If the boss-lady gets to be too much to handle, my doors always open." She whispered.

The blonde giggled slightly, "I know, Selph."

"Come _on_, Namine! We have to go! I want to be home before the sun goes down!"

Selphie gave her one last squeeze before letting go. "Bye you two! Call me, Olette!" She wagged a finger at Namine. "And _you _need to get a cell phone. Who the hell doesn't have a cell phone in the twenty-first century?"

"She'll get one. Now, let's be off!" Olette said, raising a fist in determination.

Olette wrapped her hand around Namines wrist and literally began to drag the blonde out of her store, pausing only to lock the door.

Selphie raced out after them. "Don't lock me in here!"

Olette quickly closed the door after her and slammed the key into the hole. "Sorry." She slipped the key back into her purse. "See ya tomorrow, Selphie! Be careful on your way home!"

"Yeah yeah, you too! Later Nami! Later 'Lette!"

"Goodbye, Selphie!" Namine waved.

She watched as Selphie made her way down the opposite direction that they were heading before turning her attention to Olette. "Why the rush?"

The brunette sighed. "I don't want to give that stalker-creep any opportunity to check you out. What kind of sick bastard pulls this anyway? He needs help. _Big time_."

A slight bolt of fear struck in Namine's stomach. What if he was watching her right now? Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, trying to pick up anything out of the ordinary but nothing seemed off. Still, her uncle was good at being discrete. Very good. "You're right." She whispered. "Let's get to my apartment as quick as possible."

"Agreed."

Olette shoved two fingers in her mouth and let out a high pitched whistle loud enough to make Namine cringe. A cab that was about to speed by them, immediately stopped. "Wow. You're going to have to teach me how to do that."

They both climbed in the cab and Namine gave the driver the street she lived on. After the taxi began to move again, the blonde gently leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, trying to sort her thoughts out. She probably needed to make some changes on her original plan to rescue Kairi. Maybe she should-

"Hey? You okay, Namine? You look kinda sick…"

The blonde's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name. "What?"

Olettes brow furrowed. "You feeling alright?"

"Oh." She placed a hand to her forehead. "Yeah, just a little tired."

Olette scoffed. "You don't look just a _little _tired. You look like you've just been run over by a bus on your way to the hospital because you just got shot in the stomach."

The blonde quirked an eyebrow. "That's very descriptive. It's just been a stressful day, Olette."

The brunette pursed her lips but otherwise kept quiet until they arrived at Namine's apartment. She paid the fare, much to Namines dismay, and the two climbed out and entered the lobby of the building.

"Hiya, Namine!" Yuffie greeted from behind the reception counter, her eyes briefly stopping on Olette. "Brought Olette, yeah?"

The blonde shrugged as Olette waved. "Yes, but we're just here to grab a few things. I won't be here for awhile so don't worry if I don't come in."

Yuffie's nose crinkled in distaste. "Aw, why not?"

"Olette needs help around her place, so I'm just going to stay with her. Plus, you know how my floors are being redone." She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be back."

Lie.

"Okay, okay. Well, you know where to find me if you need me! Oh, and get a phone, Namine. You need one."

She giggled. "Yeah, I know."

They all waved good-bye before Namine and Olette rode the elevator up to the blondes apartment. When they arrived, Namine quietly unlocked the door and both entered.

"Can I help with something?" Olette asked, setting her purse on the couch in the living room.

"No need, I shouldn't be more than five minutes." She entered her bedroom and grabbed a small bag in her closet. "Make yourself comfortable!"

She dug through her dresser and stuffed a few dresses and undergarments into her bag, mentally noting that she had just enough room to pack the few toiletries she owned. She quickly walked to her bathroom and was about to open the medicine cabinet when she caught her reflection in the mirror.

All at once, her head exploded in pain as she recalled a few weeks ago.

_She looked dead._

It was almost like nothing had even changed.

Her skin was dull and extremely pale. The bags under her eyes were as dark as night and made her look even more like a zombie. Her hair was lusterless and lifeless; blonde looking grey.

She quickly opened the cabinet and threw her face wash and toothbrush inside, closing it and rushing out of the bathroom.

"I'm ready." She said, a bit too loud.

Olette started from her place on the couch. "Jesus, Namine."

The blonde's eyes grew. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright. Come on, let's get outta here."

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

As it turns out, Olette _didn't _have an apartment like she and Roxas. She had had a house.

And it was _huge._

Seven bedrooms, six baths, two living rooms and two kitchens. Three stories high when including the basement.

She was going to have to clean _this_?

"No!" Olette said after she asked quietly. "I have a maid. I only said you could clean it to make you feel better."

"Olette, I _have_ to do _something_. It would be wrong to stay for nothing." Her uncle made _sure _that she earned the roof over her head.

"Ugh." Olette sighed. "Okay, well there is something you might be able to do…"

"And that would be…"

Olette beamed at her. "Paint my nails every Friday!"

Namine stared at her. "Paint your nails? That's it?"

Olette nodded. "You bet! I can _never _do them right, and since your nails are so pretty, I figured you knew a thing or two about painting nails, right?"

No, not really. Namine used to paint her nails when she was fifteen but ever since she entered the whore house, painting her nails were at the bottom of the list of things she wanted to do at the time.

"Um, sure I guess." It couldn't hurt to try again. "But are you sure that's all? I mean, I really don't want to be a burden here…"

"Are you kidding me? You being here will bring some excitement to this house. It's just me and my maid. Life is such a drag here."

The blue eyed woman surveyed her surroundings again. "Olette…"

"My parents are both CEO's. That's what you wanted to ask, right? How I could afford this place?" A small laugh escaped her. "My store isn't doing _that _well."

Namine smiled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Olette waved her off. "You weren't. Now, let me show you your room."

They walked up the staircase until they reached the second floor, then she followed Olette until they reached the end of one of the many halls. "This is it." The brunette said, pointing to a white door on the left.

She opened the door and was immediately assaulted by the blinding color of brilliant white. Everything was white: the bed, the dresser, the carpet, and the walls- everything. "Olette it's…"

"My mother is a lot like you, you know. Her favorite color is white. I made this room specifically for her, but since I know how much you like that color too, I thought you might like this."

"It's lovely. Perfect." She turned towards her boss. "Thanks, Olette. Really, thank you."

She earned a smile from the brunette. "You are very welcome. I'll just leave you to unpack-"

Olette muttered a small curse when her cell phone went off in her pocket. She drew it from its place and looked at who was calling. She smiled as she answered it. "Hey, Roxas."

Namines heart immediately began to pound in her chest when she heard his name. Why was he calling Olette?

"Calm down. She's with me. Did Yuffie not talk to you when you came in?" Pause. "Oh. She was probably on her break then." Another pause. "Yeah sure, I'm free. Okay, hold on a second." She placed her free hand over the receiver. "Roxas wants to know if you want to hang out with us tonight. And I _know_ you don't have any plans." She smirked.

Namine giggled. "Okay, yeah, that sounds fun."

She placed the phone back to her ear. "Yeah, she can come… What time …Okay, we'll be there. See ya then."

Namine watched as she ended the call and placed the phone back in her pocket. "Man, Roxas was freaking out."

Namine's brow crinkled. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Your doorman had apparently told him that you hadn't come in yet." She glanced at her wrist watch. "You would have come home, what, about three hours ago, right?"

The blonde nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, about that time."

"Well, if someone comes home three hours late, what does that look like?" Namine stared at her, not getting it. "He thought something happened to you!"

"Oh." Was all that came out of her mouth. It did make sense. The circumstances that led to their first meeting probably didn't help matters much.

"Yuffie was apparently on break or something because _she _wasn't there." She shook her head. "Anyway, we are meeting at that sushi place downtown at seven so we need to start getting ready. What are you going to wear?"

The blonde slowly looked down at what she was currently sporting. "This?"

Olette stared at her for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "Yeah, right!" She held her hand out Namine. "Come with me to visit my wonderland of clothes!"

Taking the brunettes hand cautiously, she voiced her concerns. "What's wrong with this dress?"

"The place we are going to is very expensive, so you have to look extra nice!"

She swallowed in preparation at what was about to come as they raced to Olettes room. "Um, Okay…"

This should be fun.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Listen, this is one of my favorite dresses, so you better not get any soy sauce on it." Olette said jokingly.

Namine turned around to face the full length mirror. The dress Olette had loaned to her fell just above her knees and clung to her figure. It was white from the torso down to her waist while the apron and straps of the dress were a deep purple. A small purple and white striped bow was pinned to her left strap while a soft purple floral pattern was stitched into the white fabric on her torso. Plain white flats adorned her feet.

"Wow." Namine breathed. "It's beautiful, Olette."

"It looks even better on you." She smiled.

Namine returned it. "Thank you."

Olette skipped to her bathroom. "Now for your hair and makeup!"

Namine instantly froze. "No!"

Olette poked her head out from the bathroom. "What?"

"No makeup. Please." She tried to hide the urgency in her voice.

Olette opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. "Okay, alright. Can I put something in your hair though?"

Namine clasped her hands behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. "Y-Yeah, that's fine."

Olette disappeared in her bathroom again for a moment before coming out with something purple in her hand. "This originally came with the dress, but it never looked right on me so I never wore it. Hopefully it's different for you."

She placed a purple headband with a small bow just like the one on her dress onto Namines head. "Yep." The brunette grinned. "It definitely looks better on you." She looked back at her watch and gasped, slightly startling the blonde next to her. "We have twenty minutes to get there! We have to go _now_!"

The brunette ran out of the room with Namine in tow. The blonde took this time to admire Olettes attire. She was wearing a simple but elegant forest green dress that was about the same length as her own. A silver beaded necklace fell from her neck and similar earrings dangled off her lobes. Her hair was let down in loose curls, making Namine think she looked similar to a princess. Silver heels clicked against the floor.

Olette drew out her cell phone and fiddled with it for a moment before she placed it next to her ear. "Hey babe, are you coming tonight? …Yeah…Okay….I want you to meet someone….About fifteen minutes…Okay see you later. Love you too."

She grabbed some keys that were hanging on a rack. "Guess what, Namine~!"

"What?"

"You're going to meet my boyfriend today~." She sang.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." She replied, ignoring the faint taste of disgust that entered her mouth.

"Three years and going strong."

They went a different way out of the house than when they came in before. When Olette opened a glass door however, Namine immediately knew why.

The door led to a garage.

The garage led to a nice and new orange car.

"Olette, what is this?"

"A Honda Accord, baby! She's my honey bee!"

"If you have a car, then why do you take cabs?"

"I am_ so_ not getting a scratch on this beauty. Climb in!"

She did what she was told and buckled herself in, quickly becoming comfortable in her seat. Olette turned the car on and revved the engine with a devious smile stretching across her glossed lips.

"Um, Olette…"

"Yeah?" The brunette pulled out of the garage as soon as the door opened.

"What's sushi?"

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

Olettes' heels clicked against the sidewalk outside of the sushi bar. "I cannot _believe _you didn't know what sushi was. Have you lived under a rock all this time?"

"Something like that." She had heard of sushi, just never really knew what it was exactly. Her clients never brought her any. If they _did _bring her food, it would be some sort of aphrodisiac.

A man in an all black suit opened the entrance door for them. "Good evening, ladies."

"Good evening."

"Thank you." Namine replied.

The restaurant was beautiful to say the least. The ceiling was pretty much a fish tank as hundreds of fish swam above them, the water giving the entire room a bluish hue. Plants were spread out in various places; some were hanging off the ceiling and swaying as if there were a slight breeze. The tables had lights coming from within them and Namine noticed that aside from the aquarium above them and the lights radiating off the tables, there was no other source of illumination. It was okay though, she could see everything perfectly. There was a bar straight ahead of her but neither she nor Olette paid much attention to it.

"Do you have a reservation, ma'am?" A man standing in front of a podium asked Olette politely.

"Um, actually we're here with someone…"

"Name, please?"

"Hikari." A voice much deeper than Olettes said from behind Namine.

Namine gasped and turned around sharply.

"Whoa there tiger, it's just me." Roxas chuckled, making Namine sigh in relief.

"Come on, I'll show you where we all are." After waving off the man behind the podium, he led the girls through a few people and around a few tables before Olette began to wave wildly at one of the tables.

"Hayner!"

A blonde, curly haired man, looked up from one of the many tables in the restaurant in their direction. Upon seeing the brunette, who was now smiling like it was Christmas morning, he rose from his seat and walked quickly over to them.

"Hey babe." He said and gave the brunette a quick peck on the lips.

"Hiya cutie." She turned towards Namine. "This is my friend, Namine. Namine, this is my boyfriend, Hayner."

He stared at her for a moment, an odd look plastered on his face, before he stuck his hand out to shake. "Pleasure to meet you."

She stared at him as well. There was something so familiar about him… like she had met him somewhere before. She knew he wasn't one of her clients; she never forgot them, and she didn't think she ever would.

Nevertheless, she timidly accepted his hand.

"Same here."

Hayner dropped her hand and quickly laced his and Olettes fingers together, leading her back to the table where she sat beside him. Roxas looked at Namine and shrugged, motioning her to follow him where she sat in between Olette and Roxas.

"Howdy, Namine!" Sora beamed from his seat across from her.

"Hello." She smiled.

"Hi, Nami~!" Selphie sang and patted her head from her seat next to Sora's. "Glad you can make it."

"Did you get the invite kinda late as well?" Namine laughed.

"Yeah, well Roxas is more of a spontaneous sort of person. Aren't ya, blondie?"

Roxas scoffed. "First, that nickname is stupid. Second, without my spontaneous attitude, you would be doing bored tonight."

"Not true, I would be having an especially hot make-out session with Ben & Jerry."

"Because those are the only men who would date you, right?" He smirked."

"At least someone _will _date me."

Roxas barked out a laugh. "Ouch. I can feel that burn. Nice." The two high-fived.

Namine stared in confusion. "What?"

All eyes instantly turned toward her, making her want to crawl into her own grave. "I mean, you just insulted each other and now you're friends again? I don't under- why is everyone laughing?"

"Namine." Roxas chuckled. "It's called sarcasm. We didn't mean anything we just said; we were just messing around. I know Selphie has lots of people who want to date her."

"And heaven knows Roxas could get any girl he wants. They practically throw themselves at him…"Selphie added.

"Sarcasm…" Namine wondered off.

They didn't mean anything they had said? Then had Roxas meant what he said last week when he told her they were best friends? Was she wrong to trust him?

_Yes…_

_No. Come on, Namine. Trust your instincts._

Should she? Her instincts were telling her-

"And for you ma'am?"

She jumped when Roxas nudged her in the side. "O-Oh. I'll have the…Yellow Tail roll." She said voicing the first thing she saw on the menu.

What the hell was Yellow Tail?

They handed their menus to waiter before Roxas turned to her. "You alright?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes, I'm fine. Why?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "You just seem kinda out of it. You also look like you haven't slept in a month."

She smiled reassuringly. "Well, you know. New apartment and all."

Although still seemingly unconvinced, he nodded anyway. "Yeah, I know."

"Hey Roxas, Hayner doesn't believe me! Tell him what you did to Seifer when we were little."

Roxas shot a glance towards the blonde beside him. "Another time. Whatever he told you though, is true." He smiled cockily.

"I bet." Hayner smirked.

The conversation drifted on different topics for a while, touching a certain subject before passing on to the next. When the waiter eventually brought the food they had ordered, Namine stared at it curiously for a moment. She picked up the chopsticks the restaurant had supplied her with and picked a small piece of sushi off one of the rolls and placed it in her mouth.

Well, that was peculiar.

"You like it?" Selphie asked, a knowing smile dancing on her face.

"It's different…" She started. "But…good."

Selphie laughed in response.

"Dude, guys, did you know they Namine _didn't _know what sushi was?" Olette said, taking a sip from her water.

"What?" Sora practically yelled.

The whole table balked at her.

"I-I can't help it. I just didn't know…"

"Now, now guys. Cut here some slack. She's blonde." Selphie winked.

Roxas and Hayner both glared at her. "I resent that." They said in unison.

Pretty soon, everyone's plates had been cleared of all signs of raw fish. Sora was leaning back in his chair, rubbing his stomach and cleaning his teeth with a toothpick. "Ya know," He began. "That was some good sushi."

"Uh huh." Selphie agreed.

"I want some dessert." Hayner spoke up.

Olette grabbed his arm. "Chocolate~."

"I don't care. I just want _sugar_."

"I hear this place has the best lava cakes. They actually set them on fire!" Roxas threw his hands up. "How freaking cool is that?"

"What are lava-?"

"Excuse me, Miss?"

A tap on her shoulder made Namine look behind her at a waiter that she did not recognize. "Y-Yes?"

"A man at the bar asked me to bring this to you. It's already paid for."

The waiter set a glass down in front of her. The contents held a greenish, cloudy liquid with a purple umbrella, all contained in a pink margarita glass, styled perfectly.

"Oh~ Namine has an admirer~!" Selphie clasped her hands together in delight.

The waiter set a napkin down beside the pink glass. "I don't need any more napkins, thank you." She whispered.

"I'm afraid he insisted on you using this one."

She furrowed her brows at the waiter in confusion. She flicked her eyes towards Roxas and saw that he wore the same expression she did, as well as many at their table.

She picked up the napkin from the table and gently began to unfold in, afraid of ripping the delicate material. When she had completely unfolded the entire thing her eyes grew twice their size and her heart was threatening to burst from beating so hard.

In big black letters read the words: '**FOUND YOU**'.

She turned very quickly back toward the waiter, making Roxas jump and Olette gasp. "Who sent me this?" She demanded, trying to fight back a scream.

The waiters eyes lifted towards the bar before he raised a finger, pointing. "He did, ma'am."

Her stomach jumped in her throat as she began to slowly turn towards the direction the man was pointing.

When her eyes landed on the person sitting at the bar, a loud sob escaped her lips.

She wished she were dead.

Because sitting on a barstool, sipping out of shot glass and eyeing her with a smile on his face…

Was her uncle.

**A/N: Dun dun dun. Poor, poor, Namine. Her uncle wants her back soooo bad, huh? **

**I finally got back some inspiration for writing this story. Yipee! : )**

**I absolutely lovedddd you guys' reviews! They were da bombbbb!**

_**Anonymous reviews:**_

_**Taylor: Thanks for the compliments! I hope chapter has answered one or two of your questions, but made more appear! :) I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**Bri: Thanks so much! Keep reviewing!**_

_**plz hurry the next chapter now: Haha, I love the name! Sorry, I know I'm kinda late on this chapter, but I lacked butt lods of inspiration! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**Ree-Vance: Thank you so much! :)**_

**Don't forget to leave a review about your thoughts on this chapter! It doesn't take long and it makes my day : )**

**Ta ta for now, **

**~Sinnnnnn**

**P.S: When I reply to your reviews via P.M, that means I'm in the process of putting a new chapter up ;)**


	7. Madness

People always told her to never take life for granted.

"Life is beautiful." They'd whisper to her, smiles of happiness gracing their features. "Enjoy it while you can and when a storm blows in, remember to bring out your umbrella, no matter how battered the old thing is."

And she would smile and nod and foolishly believe them.

Trusted them.

Meaningless trust.

Life wasn't beautiful back then.

Life is a nightmare now.

Her pale hand shakily reached up to cover her mouth.

People always told her that life was a gift.

She was a gift.

But they were wrong.

They were so wrong.

She was a gift to men.

While the wrapping of her own life was thrown away.

Her horrified gaze was ripped from her uncle when a steady hand grabbed her trembling arm. Her blue eyes flew to another pair of equally intense eyes, his lips parted to say something to her that her ears could no longer hear.

Life was a joke.

A cruel, sick joke, and she was the punchline.

She ripped her arm away from her best-friend and the person she knew in her heart, she may never see again. Her uncle will drag her back down to the pits of hell, making sure she burned in the flames for eternity, never to be seen or heard from again.

NO, HE WON'T!

He would not take her again! She'd rather die than go back to that flaming trench of sin!

She returned her gaze to the bar, only to be greeted by the sight of an empty seat where her uncle had once sat. The picture both relieved and terrified her at the same time.

She didn't really comprehend the fact that she had started to run, or the fact that both Roxas and Olette were yelling at her to stop. The only thing she had fully conceived, was the fact that she had somehow gotten into a taxi cab, though, for the life of her, she can't remember leaving the restaurant.

After she recited off Olette's address in a hoarse whisper to the driver, she slowly craned her head around to look out the rear window of the car. Roxas' black blazer and golden hair blew faintly in the wind as he stood in the middle of the road, watching the cab disappear from sight with a worried expression pulling on his features.

He ran back into the restaurant, the eyes of people unknown to him following his every move with curiosity, and to the table where Olette stood with her hands grasping the napkin the waiter had left with anxious eyes.

"Where do you think she went?" He asked, almost too quickly. "Her apartment, right?" He grabbed his keys off the table and looked at Olette impatiently.

"Olette, answer me!" He snapped, temper rising.

"She-she probably went to my apartment, all her stuff is there." Her eyes searched the table in panic before she stuffed the napkin deep into her front pocket.

Roxas growled in frustration, grabbed the brunette's wrist (a stunt that made Hayner jump from his seat in alarm) and left the restaurant without saying goodbye to his other peers. His legs felt like air as he ran to his car with Olette in tow and, after making sure his friend got in, climbed into the driver's side.

Tires screeched as he drove out of the parking lot and onto the main highway, the speedometer going way over the legal limit. "Why is she at your house?" His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight that the whites of his knuckles were strained against his skin.

Olette mumbled something that was far too low for human ears to catch.

"_What_?!"

Olette jumped, startled by his biting tone. "I said..."

She trailed off, not knowing whether or not to tell Roxas her fears after Namine had specifically instructed her not to.

Her mind was made up, however, whenever Roxas punched the steering wheel in frustration.

"Dammit, Olette! Tell me what the hell is going on! Why was she crying like that?!" His eyes widened a bit in realization. "What was on that napkin that freaked her out so bad? Don't lie to me."

Olette dipped her hand into her pocket without hesitation and unfolded it. "Don't freak out on me too, okay? If I tell you, you have to promise not to explode."

"Whatever, yeah."

She dangled the napkin in front of his face and he snatched it from her so he could see the road. Glancing at the highway and then back at napkin, he held it up so that the streetlight could reveal what was written on it.

'FOUND YOU'

His brows furrowed and he stole a look towards the brunette. "Explain."

And she did.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

Her head is pounding as she runs up the stairs and into the white room. When she enters it, she slams the door behind her and locks it.

Nope, nope, nope, not getting in here.

She slides down the door and entangles her hands into her hair.

He wouldn't get her this time.

Oh no, he wouldn't.

no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Who wouldn't get her?

Not him.

Him?

She doesn't know.

She wants cake. Strawberry cake. Kairi's favorite.

Who's Kairi?

She doesn't know.

She's rather hungry.

She needs to get something to eat.

"Food, now? What's wrong with now? Nothing important happening, right? Nope, nope, nope, nope."

She picks herself up from the floor and searches the room for any signs of something she can eat.

She spots the bed and turns her face away. Beds were where bad memories were made.

_Memories of what?_

She doesn't know.

Food? No, she's not hungry.

She needs to pack her things.

_Why?_

She needs to run before it's too late.

_Why?_

Before he finds her.

_Who?_

He always finds her.

"I've always thought Yuna was a pretty name. Maybe I should call myself that. Namine. Yuna. I like Yuna better. Call me Yuna from now on. Okay."

She enters the bathroom and looks at her reflection in the mirror. Gosh, she's rather pale, isn't she? She needs to be tanner, like the girls in the magazines usually are. Her eyes are too blue. Her frame is too slim. Her hair is too...

...long.

It needs to be cut.

It's almost down to her waist! Much too long...

She grabs the pair of scissors that are resting on the blue counter and positions them to snip off one of her locks.

_Bye bye hair. I've killed you_. She thinks as her beautiful, flaxen hair falls to the floor in clumps.

"Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye!" She chants, giggling loudly.

"Namine?"

Voices? They sound familiar. What do they want?

"Namine, open the door!"

Another lock of hair hits the tile.

"She's locked it. I don't know where the key is!"

"Namine, please, open the door!"

"Too long..." She mumbles to herself. "Bye, bye, bye!"

He won't find her again.

"I'll have to break it down. Give me a second."

Why can't they just go away?

"Hurry!"

She laughs at her reflection, blue eyes intense and unfocused.

**BAM**

No more hair.

**BAM**

No more lies.

**BAM**

No more anything.

**CRASH**

"Namine!"

"She's in the bathroom, Roxas- Oh, my God..."

She turns toward the people who have intruded on her personal space and smiles at them. "Isn't it pretty?"

Roxas could only stare.

Her once beautiful, long blonde hair that used to fall to her waist, was lying all over the bathroom floor. She hadn't cut it too short though, as it fell just past her shoulders in choppy pieces.

"Namine..."

"It was too long..." She replies, a glint in her eye. "It needed to be cut." She tucks a strand behind her ear. "Much better."

He gently grabs her arm, only for her to flinch away from his touch like he is on fire.

"STAY AWAY!" She suddenly screams and almost trips over her own feet as she hurriedly backs away from him into a corner, her hands entangled in her freshly cut hair. "He found me, found me, found me..."

Roxas didn't relent. His shoe squeaks on the tile as he kneels down, hands hesitantly wavering in front of her face before he grabs her cheeks firmly, ignoring her shrill yell for him to stay away.

"Namine, look at me."

She stills, but her eyes remain fixated on the floor.

"Namine."

Nothing.

"Please."

His voice sounds so heartbroken, so achingly sincere.

"Namine, _look_ at me."

Her eyes lift.

He smiles

Tears pour down her face.

He gazes into her blue irises, slowly seeing comprehension fill her once unfocused, insane eyes. "Roxas..." She whispers, and he trembles at the sound of his name.

"He found me."

"Who found you?" He asks, his voice just as quiet as hers.

"He's going to bring me back..." A sob escapes her.

Roxas shakes his head. "No, he won't."

She places a frail hand over her mouth, eyes searching the floor in panic. "He's going to drag me back, oh God-"

"Look at me, Namine."

She does.

"He won't bring you back. I won't let him. As long as I'm here, I swear I won't let him near you. Do you hear me, Namine?" She sniffles. "You are safe."

All is silent.

Safe? Her? Never. She would never be safe. Even if by some miracle, she didn't go back to the stew, her uncle would always hunt her to her dying breath. Always. There was no escape and there never would be.

"I'm never safe." She whispers to him, tears clouding her vision again. "He'll always find me."

"_Listen_ to me, Namine!" His eyes burn into hers and her senses are set ablaze at the intensity he is showing. She can feel his heat. "I will not let him touch you. I will not let him near you. I will not let him take you. I swear on my life. You are safe. Trust me."

Trust me.

Why was she still having trouble trusting him- the man that had protected her from evil, sheltered her in his home, and offered to hold her hand through the turmoil her life imposed upon her? Hadn't she already decided that he was the only man she trusted?

She did.

So she nods.

Darkness cradled her like she was its child, and she rested her head against it as it sang her to sleep.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

Roxas caught her when she slumped forward, her cheek resting upon his chest peacefully- a completely different image than what he saw just a few minutes ago. She went away. Her mind flew away from him to some unknown place, all because this man that she was terrified of had discovered where she was.

He'd hunt that bastard down and educate him about pain.

After he had slipped his arm underneath the backs of her knees and lifted her from the awkward position she placed herself in, he pushed past Olette and set her on the white blanketed bed in the bedroom.

He turned around expeditiously and Olette could have sworn his eyes held that old ravaging anger they used to. She flinched, remembering the times when Roxas was not so kind.

"What's his name?" His voice shook with barely contained fury.

"I don't know." Olette replied, her tone as even and calm as she could manage. "Don't you think I'd hunt him down myself if I knew?"

"What did he look like? Didn't you say he entered your store? Don't you have any damn security cameras?"

"Of course I do, but Namine told me it was an old woman not a man! What do you expect-"

"I need to find him, Olette! I need to find him and rip his-"

"Roxas!"

His eyes darted towards the green-eyed brunette, and he immediately diminished his alarming animosity at her frightened expression.

"Roxas, stop. You're acting . . ."

She didn't need to say it. He knew what she meant. He was scaring her just like he used to. He scrubbed a hand down his face, trying to relieve the tension there. "I know."

"I'm... sorry." He whispered to her.

She smiled, a bit sadly, and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "It's okay. She's what matters most right now."

He planted himself down beside serene Namine on the bed. "I don't know what to do, Olette. Do-Do you think she had a shitty ex-boyfriend or something?" He clasped his hands together in front of his mouth, slightly muffling his voice. "I can't just sit here and wait for something to happen... I've got to go find that security tap-"

Olette rushed toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping his pursuit to stand. "I don't know, Roxas. I'm just as worried as you are. We can't do anything if we don't know anything." She sighed. "There is no use in us doing anything tonight. For now, get some rest. I think today was hard for all of us. You can pick any room you want, I'll stay here with Nam-"

"No. I'll stay here with her. I'd prefer to, if you don't mind." He eyes cut across to the dreaming blonde.

Olette smiled a knowing smile. "I understand."

The door creaked when she closed it after her.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

4:36 A.M

He tipped the lever on toilet and walked over to the sink. His blue eyes squinted due to the bright light in the bathroom as he washed his hands. He ran a hand through his spikey tussles and sighed. It's amazing how much one's life can change in a single day. How much _his_ life could change in a single day? Just a matter of hours ago, he had been eating sushi with his friends. Now, he was staring into Olette's overpriced mirror and thinking about why all of this had to happen to his best friend.

Things changing so quickly...

He cringed when a string of unwanted memories from his past surged forth, almost bringing him to his knees. He shook his head, trying to banish the flashbacks that haunted his every move. He begged for sleep to take him from wakefulness but he knew that even if he went back to Namine, sleep would not be granted unto him.

Not tonight.

Truthfully, he cannot even remember the last time he had a good night's sleep. Nightmares ravaged his dreams and, before Namine came, he could scarcely tell the difference between his dreams and reality. It felt like every move he made was mechanical. He would rise from his bed because of the sheer force of habit. The thoughts of guilt that had clung onto him after so many numbing years had made him careless. Maybe that was why he decided to house a complete stranger in his apartment.

He blamed it on guilt.

He had already caused the death of one person. What was the point in taking the life of another?

He sighed, breath faintly fogging the mirror, and turned towards the door, exiting the bathroom.

He had left a small lamp on in the room where Namine slept, feeling as if that fragile brightness would break up some of the darkness that haunted her. The light filtered out of the room through the crack in the door. It wouldn't shut anymore since Roxas had broken it.

He entered the room and sat on the white leather chair in the corner, picking up 'The Fountainhead' and glancing over the page he was on before slamming it shut and burying his head in his hands. He expected his life to get more complicated after building a relationship with this girl, but this was not what he had imagined in the least. Crazy ex-boyfriend? Psycho lover? Maybe just someone who had seen her out one day, then become obsessed with her?

Possibly.

He lifted his eyes to her sleeping frame. What could he possibly do to protect her? He had known this woman for what? A month? Two months? Not very long, that's for sure. But she held this innocence, this vulnerability that screamed out for someone to protect her and he was all too happy to oblige. He trusted her and she trusted him- at least he thinks she did. So, he would take that trust and make sure that no one dares lay a finger on her.

Would she tell him about it when she wakes? Would she tell him who this 'he' was? He wouldn't make her, but he desperately hoped that she would. She trusted him enough to do that, right?

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

_At each turn there was either another door or another hallway to run down. It was like a never ending maze, a never ending nightmare that she was forced to canter from. If she slowed down, even just a little, he would appear from behind her, nipping at her heels. She couldn't let him catch her, no matter how tired she was, how out of breathe she was, or how painful her muscles were becoming. If he caught her, she would never see her news friends again, and he would make extra sure that she never even heard a whisper of Kairi._

_She grasped the sides of the doorway that lead into another part of another hallway. The footsteps behind her were getting closer; she could hear the thud of the carpeted floor beneath her pursuer's feet. There was no exit. She had been running for hours, maybe even days, but even if there wasn't any way out, she still had to keep going._

_She began to jog again, occasionally tripping over her own feet from exhaustion, when she cried out in despair as soon as she saw the bare wall at the end of the hall. She was trapped. There were no more doors to lead her other endless aisles. There was no way out. He had finally caught up to her._

_She chanced a look over her shoulder froze in fear once she saw her uncle racing towards her. The hallway was extraordinarily long, but it would take him only a matter of minutes to stand where she is. She turned around, hoping to God for an answer to an unspoken prayer, and then, from thin air, two new doors appeared where there was previously only naked wall._

_One was a white door, the other black. The white door was in seemingly perfect condition, as there were no chips in the wood and the doorknob was a glistening silver- fingerprints didn't even mar its perfection. In black paint the word 'Lies' was written in beautiful calligraphy in the center. _

_The black door was the opposite. There were scratches on the dull wood, forming a backstory that perhaps someone had tried to enter the room to get to the other side of it, but failed. The door knob looked old, hundreds of years old maybe, and she was afraid to touch it for fear of unscrewing it. In white, chipped paint, the word 'Truth' was written upon it._

_The footsteps were closing in. Fast._

_Her initial instinct was to enter the perfect white door, but upon inspection, all was not what it appeared. The white door was not made out of wood, but curiously, out of paper. The shiny doorknob was silver plastic, painted just so that it gave the illusion of a stronger material. This door didn't have a chance against the man tailing her. It could never keep her safe._

_Her eyes roamed the black door, heart pounding from panic. Her hand touched the hard surface of it and was surprised to find that it too, was not made out of wood. Unlike the white door, though, it was not made out of paper either, but rather a material that felt metal-like. She gently pushed against it and was surprised to find it sturdy and firm, not wavering in the slightest._

_He wasn't far away from her, now._

_She had to make a choice. Would she choice the door that said 'Lies', with its frail framework and paper-thin lining? Or would she choose the door that read 'Truth', with its stable and strong metal with stone-like structure?_

_She glanced behind her, saw her attacker's eyes, then quickly entered the 'Truth' door. _

_She slammed it behind her._

_The room she entered was so bright that she had to cover her eyes for a few seconds. She didn't register the hand on her arm until the grip the person had on her grew tighter._

_"Namine."_

_She squinted into deep cerulean orbs, ones that looked so very much like her own._

_"Namine." The deep voice said again, this time capturing her full attention._

_The eyes were so familiar._

_"Roxas?"_

"Namine, wake up!"

She felt her limbs thrash around in panic before she took heed of someone's fingers digging into her skin. She opened her eyes and thought she was back in her dream again- for the same blue irises were burning into hers.

"Roxas?" She swallowed.

"Yeah, it's me." He said releasing his iron grip on her once she settled down, and threw her a reassuring grin. "I'm here. You okay?"

She stared for a moment longer before shaking her head, trying to wake the rest of her sore limbs up.

"Everything hurts..." She whispered, perplexed by the stiffness of her body. She hadn't done any extensive exercise the day before.

"I'm not surprised. You had a lot of emotional trauma yesterday. Fire victims often feel the same as you. It's because their muscles are so tense during a situation like watching their house burn to the ground." He smiled morbidly, shrugging a little.

She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose.

She felt the bed shift with his weight.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that." She said quietly, eyes still shut tight.

She felt her hand lift from the bed as his own encased it. "S'okay. We all lose it sometimes." She cracked one eye open and saw that one of his eyebrows were raised, a lip caught between his perfect teeth. "Although, it would help if you told me what exactly it was that made you...lose it."

She screwed her eyes shut again. She knew he would eventually ask, just perhaps not so soon. She didn't want to tell him. It would ruin everything she had been working so hard for.

"Please, Namine. I want to help you, but how am I supposed to do that when I don't even know what it is that you're running from?" Her heart twitched as she heard the faint pleading in his tone.

She didn't want to tell him.

So, she didn't have to. There was no reason what-so-ever to tell-

_Her initial instinct was to enter the perfect white door, but upon inspection, all was not what it appeared. The white door was not made out of wood, but curiously, out of paper. The shiny doorknob was silver plastic, painted just so that it gave the illusion of a stronger material. This door didn't have a chance against the man tailing her. It could never keep her safe._

_Her eyes roamed the black door, heart pounding from panic. Her hand touched the hard surface of it and was surprised to find that it too, was not made out of wood. Unlike the white door, though, it was not made out of paper either, but rather a material that felt metal-like. She gently pushed against it and was surprised to find it sturdy and firm, not wavering in the slightest._

She gasped, eyes flying open. She hadn't had that dream merely by chance. It was like someone had sent it to her, knowing that she was about to enter a white door with the word 'Lies' written on it.

But, if she would have entered the white door, she was sure that her pursuer would have caught her. The door may have looked strong and stable, but in reality, it was weaker than glass.

The door that had _'Truth'_ written upon it, however, was completely the opposite. It was stable, unbending, unyielding to numerous forces. She knew that no one could ever break that door, no matter how hard they tried.

That door would keep her safe.

The other would have doomed her.

But she was scared.

What if he rejected her? What if he just couldn't accept the fact that she had been with more men than any woman should ever have to be in her life? What if he thought that she was just as worthless as her uncle thought her to be?

No. He wouldn't. He was her friend and friends don't turn their backs on each other. Friends don't call each other worthless. They don't spew out insults on a daily basis, and they certainly do _not_ force them to have sex with men.

And Roxas was her best friend.

She covered her face with one of her hands. "Did Olette tell you about the. . . song?"

"Yes. As well as the pictures." He said, carefully.

She inhaled sharply, getting a bit dizzy from what she was about to say. "Well, the person who sent me that was..." She exhaled, heart pounding in her chest. She just needs to spit it out. Her tongue fumbled with the words, wrapped around them, only to lose them again. "He was..."

He held her hand tighter. "Namine." He gently urged and the sound of her name in his voice made tears burn her eyes.

"He was there last night."

"At the sushi place?"

She nodded, her hair creating friction on the pillow. "Yes, he was the one who sent me the drink."

He nodded, eyes conflicted. "He...found you?"

One hand remained on her face and she choked out a 'yes'.

Roxas let go of her hand and ran his across his face. "Ex-boyfriend?"

She shook her head. "No." She tasted the saltiness of her tears that he could not see.

"Husband?"

"No."

"Then. . .?"

She inhaled shakily. "My uncle."

He stopped for a moment. Her uncle? "Did you run away?"

She nodded.

He grabbed her unoccupied hand again and squeezed it. "Why?"

It was silent for a long time. Around five minutes or so, but he was patient and waited for her to collect herself before she finally answered him. "He wasn't very kind to me."

His thumb stroked her pale skin, observing how goose bumps appeared once his thumb trailed over her flesh, and silently urging her to continue. "He did really bad things, Roxas..."

She felt him tense beside her and go still, chastising herself for missing the soft comfort of his thumb running across the back of her hand. She dare not look at him. His teeth clenched. "Did he...hurt you?"

She shook, visibly shook, and he was starting to get very concerned and very angry again. "No, he got other people to do that for him." Her voice broke in midsentence. "The only place he hurt me was..." She let go of his hand and placed hers on her chest. "...In here." She covered her face with both hands and sat up straight, trying desperately to not allow him to see her tears. Her weakness.

Alarmed, his eyes searched her person before he pulled her to him and embraced her, rubbing soft circles on her back as she shook. "He got other people to hurt you? Did they hit you, or..." His eyes widened at the possibility that he was thinking of. "Oh God, no. Namine, did they...?"

"Don't say it." She begged and buried her head into his chest. "Please, don't say it. I'm not worthless, Roxas, I swear to you that I'm not!" Her hands fisted in his shirt as she tried desperately to ease the shaking in her limbs.

He stroked her head with one hand and kissed the top of it, eyes wide. "Namine, you are not worthless. You are priceless. So priceless."

Her teeth dug into her lip as she fought back a sob.

Why hadn't he seen this coming? The constant flinching from his touches? The trust issues with men? The reason she had problems with smiling? The bout of insanity she just put herself through? It was so blatantly obvious. He just hadn't taken the time to actually look for the tell-tale signs. She had been raped. Over and over again, by many different men. How could he have been so blind?

"I am so sorry, Namine, I can't believe I didn't fig-"

"It wasn't so bad when I got there." She cut him off, her voice eerily even and calm- emotionless, and it scared him a little. " He welcomed me into his home like an uncle should, fed me, clothed me, even bought me typical wants like make up and perfume. I had never really had the chance to have anything like that, so they were nice gifts. I stayed in this huge mansion for about a week. He had maids to wait on me hand and foot, but they kept looking at me and treating me as if something terrible had happened to me. I thought they just found out about my financial situation. They all had this look of immense pity in their eyes, like they knew something I didn't. They... frightened me."

She paused. "It was a Sunday. Uncle had told me to get dressed and to pack an overnight bag, that we were going on a short trip into town. At first, I didn't really understand why we were staying the night somewhere when the mansion was less than ten minutes from Twilight Town-"

So that's where she was from, he thought.

"-but I didn't question it. Who was I to disagree with a man like him? A man that took care of me better than my mother did? So, when that black limo pulled up, I climbed into it without hesitation. He didn't say a word to me as we traveled. Again, I thought it was strange, but I kept to my silence. After a while, we arrived at a men's bar that I recalled my uncle owned. I kept asking myself what on earth were we doing here, but I trusted my uncle. I was foolish, so I trusted him.

"When I stepped out of the limo, he grabbed my arm and I remember thinking that his grip was too tight and that he was hurting me. I knew then that something was really, very wrong, but I kept walking." She laughed, but it held no humor. "I was so stupid."

"He led me into the bar and pushed me into the back room, which I later learned was nicknamed 'Beginners Luck'. Or lack there-of. There were women in there with skin so tan that it looked almost like leather, and they smelled of cigar smoke. They sat me down in a chair and pulled at my hair and eyelashes, making them both curl beautifully. They put more make-up on me than I had ever had on in my life, and my hair was stiff from hairspray. I felt nasty, but when they spun me around to expose me to a mirror, I had never been more beautiful.

"They put some clothes on me that made me feel exposed. I had never worn such provocative clothing before. My uncle came back and grabbed me in the same painful way that he had when I first arrived, and threw me upon this old wooden stage. Once I found my balance again, I turned around and saw wide-eyed men staring at me like I was some kind of object. I suppose, at that time, I wasn't even human to them.

"Then, a man raised his hand and shouted a rather large amount of money. More money than my Mom and I had had our entire lives. Then another man yelled out an even larger amount, then another man, then another... It was then that I realized I was being sold.

"I was frozen on the stage; I refused to believe what was happening. I remember looking through the crowd, trying to find my uncle, the only person who was familiar to me at the time. When my eyes found his, he looked away in disgust. I'd never felt more helpless.

"Then, a man with a gavel proclaimed that I was sold. I had been auctioned off and someone had bought me. A man in a black suit suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me up the stairs to the top floor of the building where the bedrooms were. Men were whistling and laughing as I tried to run away from him but the man was too strong and easily overpowered me. When we got to the finest room in the bar, I begged him not to do what he was about to do. I wasn't that stupid. I knew what went on at bars. I just didn't know that my uncle forced minors to participate in the affairs.

"The man didn't listen to me. He only laughed and claimed that he had already bought me. I closed my eyes all through it and cried. I had used to believe in fairy tales; that some wonderful man would come and rescue me from situations like that and that we would fall in love and live happily ever after. But no one came for me that night." Her voice broke again. "There was no knight in shining armor to save me, no brilliant guy to take me away from that nightmare. It was just me- beaten and broken and bare.

"It was just me for a while. Time didn't pass quickly for me, and the deeds that I was forced to do didn't get any easier. Everything was about pleasing the clients I had. Then, one day, another girl my age arrived in a similar fashion as I had. I heard her screaming for about a week before I knocked on her door. She didn't trust me, and I didn't blame her. the other girls in the bar had taken pity on me because I was the boss' niece whom the boss absolutely despised, but Kairi didn't know that. She didn't know that he beat me whenever I broke a nail, or that he spit in my face whenever I showed any sign of weakness. All she knew was that I was the niece of a very bad man who had ruined her life.

"Only after she saw him tie me to a pole and whip me until I was unconscious, did she trust me. After that, she became a faint glimmer of hope in my world that was full of despair.

"We would often share similar dreams about escaping from the stew, and one day, I can't really recall exactly how we decided it, but we made up our minds that we would escape, no matter how long it took us. We started to save as much money as we could without being suspicious. Every once in a great while, a customer would tip us a meager amount, but most of the money came from money we would take out of their wallets when they weren't looking. We weren't above stealing.

"It was like that for a year or so before we finally had enough money to leave, and we finally had an escape plan that was fool-proof. I had been in that place for six long, hard years and I was finally, finally going to be free of it.

"But things didn't go so well the night we put our plan to action." She paused, trying not to allow anymore tears to fall.

"Kairi was caught and I only barely escaped. I wanted to go back for her but the taste of freedom was too great to resist. I keep telling myself that the reason I didn't try to help her was because there was nothing I could have done, but in reality, I just wanted the nightmare to end. I didn't go back for her because I was selfish.

"I ran from the building and didn't look back, but I promised Kairi I would come back for her- a promise I intend to keep. After hours of nonstop running, I met Seifer, and I thought that God was so cruel because I was sure that I was about to be thrown back into a new nightmare."

She wiped her eyes and smiled faintly up at Roxas. "But then i ran into you, and you were the first man to ever protect me without wanting anything in return. I thank you for that every day.

"Life just kept getting better. I got a job, an apartment, new friends, and most importantly, I got a new chance at life. I was actually starting to get happy, and as guilty as I felt for leaving Kairi, I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to get caught in that nasty web again, but I needed to save her. I saved myself, so I could save her too.

"Then, the CD and the pictures arrived and I felt like I was falling apart all over again. When I saw my uncle last night, I lost it. I thought I could go back for Kairi, Roxas, but I can't. I won't survive if I get caught trying to help her. My uncle may not kill me, but I might."

She scooted away from him until her back hit the frame of the bed. "I won't hold it against you if you leave."

Roxas, who had remained patient and silent throughout her story, ran a hand through his hair, a habit, she had noticed, he did when he was either annoyed or distressed. "I'm not leaving, Namine. You know me better than that." He reached his hand out and used the back of it to stroke her cheek. "I can't believe I didn't even know before." How could the thought not even flicker across his mind? How could he have been so foolish? "You're not going back there, Namine. I won't allow it. He won't get close enough to you to even seen the outline of your silhouette. I won't let him lay a hand on you, you have my word." For a moment, she felt him tremble and his eyes color with well-hidden rage before he blinked and his eyes were as soft as they had ever been. "I'm so sorry. So sorry that this happened to you. If I had known you six years ago-"

"Don't!" She blurted out. Her eyes grew wide with surprise, both at herself and at the words that were pouring out of him. "Don't say that. There is nothing you could have done. I was stupid and foolish and too trusting towards other people. I learned my lesson." She closed her eyes tightly, as if something pained her, before opening them again, blue pools betraying years of cruel abuse and negligence.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her against him again. She breathed in his scent of something exotically spicy, with a hint of something so heart achingly Roxas. His breath tickled her neck, making the hairs there stand up in response. "She didn't deserve you anyway."

She blinked, taken aback by his bold statement. She loved how he was so delicate with his words, choosing them carefully so as not to upset her. He said such kind things to her, always, so why was she still surprised when he treated her so gently?

She fisted her hands in the back of his shirt, still getting used to being touched with pure intentions, knowing that he would do nothing to her that would even remotely remind her of bad nights and bed business. He knew all of her hideous secrets now, she just prayed that he accepted her dark past and dangerous present.

"I'm not going to leave you, Namine. Please, don't even let thoughts like that enter your mind. They're pointless. Trust me." He leaned back a little to catch her eyes. "Friends trust each other and accept each other for what they are, and we're friends, right?"

She smiled, albeit faint and perhaps a bit sad. "Best friends?"

He grinned, as if reassure her. "Best friends."

**A/N: Oh my... it's been a year...**

**Feels like a week.**

**TeeHee. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Long, isn't it? Maybe an apology for the wait? Sorry...**

**Roxas and Namine are still so sweet though. The cutie patooties.**

**Did you guys enjoy Namine's insanity scene as much as I enjoyed writing it? No? Okay…**

**I always get so nervous before I post chapters.**

_**Anon Reviews:**_

_**Guest: Thank chuuuuuu! :D**_

_**Clairebear: Sorry about the wait! I will finish it! Thanks for the review ^_^**_

_**Guest: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**Jasmyne: Hehe. Namine can't catch a break, eh? Thank you for the compliments! :D**_

_**DeeBishh: Aw, thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**animeluv3: Ha! When I read really exciting fanfics, I start to shake and my Mom is like "It's summer, and you're shaking." Like, be quiet. This is some good ishh. Lol, Thank you! :D**_

_**namiroku: Thank you so very much! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**DX Llamas: Okay, I will go ahead and tell you that yes, that was him. I'm surprised you caught that- good eye! Thanks for the review! :D**_

**Hope you enjoyed! And please review!**

**Love, love, LOVE, **

**~Sin**


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